St Theodore's Church, Port Talbot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Theodore's Church |
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| Denomination | Church in Wales |
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| Dedication | Theodore of Tarsus |
The Church of St Theodore is a special church in Port Talbot, Wales. It belongs to the Church in Wales and is located near the Talbot Memorial Park. It's a really important building in the area.
Contents
Building a Special Church
This church was designed by a famous architect named John Loughborough Pearson. It's actually the biggest church he ever designed in Wales!
The church was built with money from a kind lady named Miss Emily Charlotte Talbot. She was a generous person who lived nearby at Margam Castle. Miss Talbot wanted to build the church to remember her brother, Theodore Mansel Talbot, who had passed away.
The family was part of a group called the Oxford Movement within the Church of England. This movement focused on making church services more traditional and beautiful. St Theodore's Church replaced an older, smaller church in the area called Holy Cross Church.
What the Church Looks Like
The church is built in a style called Early English style. This means it has tall, narrow windows and simple, strong shapes. Most of the church is made from a light-colored stone called Bath stone. The pulpit, which is where the minister speaks, is made from another type of stone called Portland stone.
Inside the church, there's a special memorial for Lt Rupert Price Hallowes. He was a brave soldier from Port Talbot who won the Victoria Cross, which is a very high award for bravery. He sadly passed away in 1915.
The Organ and Its Music
The church has a large and beautiful organ. It was put into the church before it officially opened in August 1897. The organ was built by Charles Martin from Oxford and was his biggest and last project. It cost more than £800, which was a lot of money back then, and people in the community helped pay for it.
In the year 2000, the organ was completely fixed up and made new again. At the same time, the whole church also had a big makeover.
Restoring the Church's Beauty
The restoration project in 2000 made many improvements to the church. All the stained glass windows were taken out and replaced. The old windows were very dirty from pollution from local factories and couldn't be cleaned. Four of the new windows were made by a famous studio called Clayton and Bell.
The stone walls of the church were also cleaned, and a new lighting system was put in. Even the old iron railings outside the church were repaired. A special bell called the Sanctus Bell, which had been taken down because its bell tower was unsafe, was put back up after repairs.
