St Paul's Church, Grangetown

St Paul's Church was a Grade II listed Church in Wales parish church opened in 1890 in Grangetown, Cardiff, Wales. In 2010 it was put up for sale because of excessive repair and running costs. Its last church service in the main building was held on 5 February 2016 and plans were prepared to convert the building into housing, with a small part retained for use by the congregation.

St Paul's Church
West facade in 2013
Location within Cardiff
General information
StatusUnder redevelopment (2016)
Architectural styleArts and Crafts
Town or cityCardiff
CountryWales
Coordinates51°27′58″N 3°11′06″W
Construction started1888
Completed1902
Cost£4,000 (1890)
Design and construction
ArchitectJohn Coates Carter
DesignationsGrade II

History and architecture

In 1885 Lord Windsor gave one acre of land to locate a church for the new Cardiff suburb of Grangetown. He financed the initial building costs of £4000.[1] The foundation stone was laid in 1889 and the building was opened by the Bishop of Llandaff on 5 February 1890.[1] A chancel was added in 1902.[2]

Designed by the Arts and Crafts architect John Coates Carter (working with J. P. Seddon[2]), St Paul's has been described as being the "finest" of his surviving early churches.[3] Pevsner's Buildings of Wales describes the building materials as "highly eccentric".[2] The walls consist of Pennant rubble with dressings of pink Staffordshire sandstone.[2] It also has an early and unusual example of concrete construction;[3] major elements are formed from concrete mixed with pebbles, crushed brick and sandstone chippings.[2][3]

The church has been a Grade II-listed building since 1975.[4] In April 2015 a fundraising campaign was launched in the hope of restoring a stained glass window installed in the church in 1920 to commemorate the First World War.[5] The window, portraying battle scenes and religious imagery, was to be retained as part of the building's partial conversion to housing.[6]

Doctor Who

St Paul's Church was a filming location for the 2005 Father's Day episode of the BBC series, Doctor Who.[1] Filming took place between 11 and 18 November 2004.[7] During a family wedding the church is attacked by alien creatures called Reapers.[8][9]

Recent events

In 2008, facing repair costs of £1 million and with a congregation much smaller than in its heyday, St Paul's asked the Church of Wales for permission to sell the old building.[10] Major repairs were required to the roof and ongoing annual running costs were estimated at £160,000.[10] In 2010 its freehold was put on the market[1] with an asking price of £300,000.[11] In February 2012 an offer was received to buy the church and convert it into a training room and offices.[11]

However, in early 2016 with no successful sale taking place, the church instead planned to work with Wales and West Housing to convert part of the building into apartments. The church gifted part of the building to the housing association. The last service took place on 5 February 2016, led by the assistant Bishop of Llandaff. A smaller part of the church, comprising the old chancel and vestry, would be retained for use by the congregation.[6]

As of 2018, the plans for converting the nave have not been followed through, and the church remains the same.[12]

References
  1. Flynn, Jessica (3 February 2010). "Church that Doctor Who made famous up for sale". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  2. Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1995). The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan. University of Wales Press. pp. 291–292. ISBN 9780140710564.
  3. Thomas, Phil. "John Coates Carter: Building a Sense of Place". BuildingConservation.com. Cathedral Communications. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  4. Parish Church of St Paul., Grangetown, britishlistedbuildings.co.uk, retrieved 17 March 2013
  5. Wales Online – "Cardiff church seeks public's help for restoration of historic First World War memorial window", 26 April 2015. Accessed 1 October 2015
  6. Silkn, Huw (19 January 2016). "Grade II-listed church to be saved by refurbishment which will see part of the building converted into flats". Wales Online. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. "The Parish of St Pauls Paget Street, Grangetown, Cardiff". Doctor Who: The Locations Guide. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  8. "Father's Day". Doctor Who. BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  9. "Father's Day". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  10. "Parish to swap old church for new". BBC News. 21 September 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  11. Cherryman, Beth (28 February 2012). "Offer made for St Paul's Church". The Cardiffian. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  12. "St Paul's Grangetown on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
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