St Catharine's Church, Baglan facts for kids
St Catharine's Church is a special church in Baglan, a town in Port Talbot, South Wales. It's known as the main church for the Baglan area. This beautiful building is considered a very important historical site. It was built a long time ago, between 1875 and 1882.
Contents
Building a New Church
Who Paid for It?
A wealthy man named Griffith Llewellyn (1802–1888) paid for the church to be built. He owned a large house nearby called Baglan Hall, which is no longer standing today. The church was officially opened in 1882 by Bishop Alfred Ollivant, who was a very important church leader at the time. You can even see carvings of Griffith Llewellyn and Bishop Ollivant near the church's entrance.
Design and Materials
The church was designed in a style called Decorated Gothic. This means it has lots of fancy details and pointed arches, like many old cathedrals. The outside of the church is made from a type of stone called Forest of Dean sandstone.
A famous architect named John Prichard helped design the church. He also worked on restoring the big Llandaff Cathedral. Even though John Prichard was involved, a local architect named John Jones oversaw the actual building work. St Catharine's Church was built to replace an older church, St Baglan's Church, which was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1954.
Inside St Catharine's Church
Beautiful Decorations
The inside of St Catharine's Church is very colorful and detailed. It uses different types of stone like Quarella stone, Forest of Dean sandstone, and a smooth white stone called "Penarth" alabaster. These different stones create a lovely mix of colors.
The area around the altar, called the chancel, is decorated with shiny bands of marble. The floor there is also made of marble and has beautiful Italian mosaic tiles. There's a special brass plaque inside the church that remembers Griffith Llewellyn and his wife, Madelina. They are both buried in the churchyard, close to the old St Baglan's Church ruins.
Amazing Stained Glass
The church has some truly amazing stained glass windows. Some of these windows were designed by famous artists. One window, showing St Cecilia with Musical Angels, was designed by William Morris. Another, showing the Crucifixion, was designed by Edward Burne-Jones. There's also a more modern stained glass window that was put in during 1972.
St Catharine's on Screen
This church has even been featured in a movie! Scenes from the 1997 film Twin Town were filmed right here at St Catharine's.
