History in Structure

Church of St Paul

A Grade II Listed Building in Gorsedd, Flintshire

More Photos »
Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

Coordinates

Latitude: 53.2797 / 53°16'46"N

Longitude: -3.2728 / 3°16'21"W

OS Eastings: 315234

OS Northings: 376614

OS Grid: SJ152766

Mapcode National: GBR 5ZLJ.81

Mapcode Global: WH76J.PTRL

Plus Code: 9C5R7PHG+VV

Entry Name: Church of St Paul

Listing Date: 25 May 2001

Last Amended: 25 May 2001

Grade: II

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 25237

Building Class: Religious, Ritual and Funerary

Also known as: St Paul's Church, Gorsedd

ID on this website: 300025237

Location: Located at the main cross-roads in Gorsedd and to the SW.

County: Flintshire

Town: Holywell

Community: Whitford (Chwitffordd)

Community: Whitford

Locality: Gorsedd

Built-Up Area: Gorsedd

Traditional County: Flintshire

Tagged with: Church building Gothic Revival

Find accommodation in
Whitford

History

In 1849 Lord Fielding (later the 8th Earl of Denbigh) and Lady Fielding founded St David's Church, Pantasaph, in honour of their marriage. One year later they converted to Catholicism, and following legal action, the church became Roman Catholic. Money was raised by public subscription throughout England and Wales to build two parish churches in lieu, at Gorsedd and Brynford. Both were built in 1852-3 to the design of T H Wyatt, along with a rectory and school.

Exterior

Gothic revival parish church. Nave, chancel, NW steeple containing porch, and N vestry. Constructed of snecked grey stone with sandstone dressings under slate roofs, the windows with Geometrical tracery. Detail includes a moulded plinth, sill band, plain eaves cornice and angle buttresses with offsets. Most of the windows have 2 cusped lights and a cinquefoil in plate tracery under a pointed arch, the hoodmoulds with foliate end stops.

Two-stage tower supporting a broach spire, the lower stage with set-back buttresses. Pointed-arched doorway to N side with 3 orders of mouldings, the central ones on attached shafts with ringed capitals and bases, the capitals with dog-tooth enrichment. It contains double planked doors with iron strap hinges. Above the doorway is a pair of cusped lancets. Single cusped lancet to W face. The upper stage is narrower, rising from offsets, and has a Lombard frieze. Each face has a 2-light louvre plate-traceried opening in the same style as the windows, the hoodmoulds without end stops. The spire has a lucarne to each face and is surmounted by a finial and weather vane.

The N side of the nave has 3 plate-traceried windows separated by buttresses. The chancel is lower and narrower. To the R is the gabled vestry with basement storey. Chamfered pointed-arched doorway to N gable end under a hoodmould. Three steps up to planked door. Raised copings and kneelers to gable, with end stack supporting 2 polygonal dressed stone shafts. To the E side of the vestry is a pair of cusped lancets, in front of which are stone steps leading down to the basement. To the L is a planked door under a Tudor-arched head with chamfer, to the R of which is a small window in the same style. To the L of the vestry, the chancel has a pair of cusped lancets, the hoodmould with foliate end stops. The E end has clasping buttresses and an ornate cross finial to the gable apex. Three-light E window in bar tracery with a large sexfoil flanked by 2 trefoils.

The S side of the chancel has 2 windows as N side, separated by a buttress. The nave has 3 windows as N side of nave, along with buttresses, and a single cusped lancet to the far R. Asymmetrical W end, with angle buttress between tower and nave and another to the centre of the gable end. Between these is a lean-to baptistery with a 2-light window under a gablet. Above the lean-to is a shallow-arched opening with a cinquefoil above 2 trefoils in plate tracery. To the R of the lean-to is a tall window as elsewhere. In the gable apex is a circular window containing a cusped sexfoil.

Interior

The nave has a 6-bay arch-braced roof on moulded corbels. The chancel arch has 2 orders of chamfer, the inner order on moulded capitals. Hoodmould with foliage stops. The chancel has closely-spaced scissor-braced trusses. In the W wall of the nave, adjacent to the N doorway, is a segmental arched recess with 2 small windows lighting the font.

The font has an octagonal bowl with alternate quatrefoils and trefoils, and a stem of clustered shafts with moulded caps and bases. The pews have moulded straight-headed ends, while the choir stalls and priest's stall have poppy heads. The polygonal wooden pulpit has blind cusped arches which have quatrefoils in the spandrels.

In the W window is glass bearing the Victorian coat of arms and dated 1853, restored by Linley Glass Studios. Three windows have stained glass of the 1990s and are all by W Wilson of Linley Glass Studios. The E window, c1990, shows Christ in Heaven. In the nave S wall is a window showing 'Suffer the Children' c1996, while the N wall shows the shipwreck of St Paul, c1992.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a good example of a High Gothic parish church of relatively early date, for its historic interest in connection with the Pantasaph controversy, and for group value with the vicarage and church hall.

External Links

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

Other nearby listed buildings

  • II Former School & School Master's House
    Located on the S side of the main road through Gorsedd, next to the Church of St Paul.
  • II Holly House
    Located to the SW of the church. The driveway runs W off the road from Gorsedd to Pantasaph. The house is part of the Vicarage, mainly occupying the service rooms to the R and with the entrance to t
  • II The Vicarage
    Located to the SW of the church. The driveway runs W off the road from Gorsedd to Pantasaph. The building is divided, with the vicarage to the L and accessed by the main entrance.
  • II Waen Farmhouse
    Located on the W side of a lane which runs N from Gorsedd to Saith Ffynnon, just N of the A5026.
  • II Limekiln
    In a prominent position fronting the road between Carmel and Gorsedd. On the S side of the road and at a junction with a lane running N.
  • II Farm Building Range at Waen Farm
    Located to the N of the farmhouse and at right angles.
  • II Engine House
    To N of Lloc Crossroads set back from the road, close to a footpath, and opposite the Rock Inn.
  • II Tyddyn Uchaf Farmhouse
    On the S side of the lane which leads from Whitford to Holywell and c0.8km from Whitford. Slightly set back from the road.

BritishListedBuildings.co.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact BritishListedBuildings.co.uk for any queries related to any individual listed building, planning permission related to listed buildings or the listing process itself.

British Listed Buildings is a Good Stuff website.