History

The N and S walls of the nave are probably C12, the chancel was added later, probably C14-15. The church was said (by Lewis and J Longueville Jones) to have fallen into decay and rebuilt in 1812, (it is more likely to have been restored), the square-headed window in the N wall of the nave is from this date. In 1839 the N transept and W tower were built and windows inserted in the E and S walls; an inscribed C9-C11 Celtic cross, part of a gravestone, was incorporated into the NE buttress of the tower. The S porch was rebuilt early C20.

Exterior

Simple Decorated style church; nave and chancel are structurally undivided, with S porch, W tower and N transept. Built of local rubble masonry, rendered, with limestone dressings. Slate roof, laid to diminishing courses, with stone copings (tile copings to N transept) and a rendered ridge. Exposed stone offset buttresses; diagonal buttresses to nave, chancel and transept and angle buttresses to W tower. Nave and chancel of 3 bays; S wall has central gabled porch with round-headed, voussoir arched entrance, E and W bays have pointed-arched Y tracery windows; N wall has a blocked, round-headed arched doorway at the W end and a single square-headed window of 3 leaded lights to E. Chancel and N transept have 4-centred Perpendicular windows of 3 lights with intersecting tracery at the heads. C19 W tower is of 3 stages; vestry in the lower stages with the belfry above. Entrance is through a segmental-headed doorway in the S wall; other openings with pointed-arched heads with Y tracery. The lower stages have leaded lights in the W wall, N and S wall with blind recesses; belfry with louvred lights in N, S and W faces, blind recess to E. Belfry has a moulded cornice to an embattled parapet, with tall pyramidal finials at angles.

Interior

Nave has an exposed roof of late medieval collared trusses with arched braces; N wall with blocked doorway, S wall with blocked window. Chancel is raised by one step and has a fluted rail on widely spaced stick balusters. Pulpit is square, raised by 3 steps, top part of recessed panels with rounded, fluted angles under a dentilled frieze and moulded cornice. Early C13 font, circular, with simple rolled base set on a square plinth. Bowl is decorated with a relief floriate design consisting of incurving pairs of stalks terminating in reversed palmettes and alternating with fleur de lys. Chancel, S wall has a slate memorial to Thomas Williams of Quirt Esq, d.1739, and his wife Margaret, d.1728.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a small rural church of exceptionally early origin; retaining simple, later Medieval character and with a distinctive 'pre-archaeological' Gothic Revival tower.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• St Ceinwen's Church at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17742738

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014