Church of St Teilo, Penderry (Penderi), Swansea

History

Anglican parish church of 1961-63 by George Pace, the leading ecclesiastical architect of the period.
George Gaze Pace (1915-75) became consultant architect to nine cathedrals, and six dioceses. He built around 30 new churches, and carried out works at 700 parish churches. He is best known in Wales for his work at Llandaff Cathedral, including the parabolic arches in the nave, and St David's Chapel. St Teilo's is one of the first Anglican churches in Wales to reconsider church design in terms of a single clear space (Newman notes its "exhilarating internal management of space"). It has many features in common with Pace's revolutionary church at Wythenshawe, of 1965-6 (designed 1961), where modern structural materials are used to achieve the broad open space. Here Pace uses giant laminated trusses to create dramatic support for the broad roof, whereas at Wythenshawe he uses rolled steel beams (but the first design for Wythenshawe shows trusses just like those here). In both, the windows are placed so as to illuminate the whole interior with natural light, but here with added emphasis through lighting the altar from a recessed full-height bay window. The church was originally designed to be approached by a path from the E to the windowless E end, from which projects the low flat-roofed SE vestry runs E, with SE porch behind. The original plans included, linked to the porch, an apsed chapel with tower above. The lower lights of the windows in the S wall were blocked shortly after construction.

Exterior

Anglican parish church, blue-black engineering brick with bands of concrete and concrete eaves and parapets. Roof of a single long pitch to the S, clad in metal sheet, originally copper, and an almost vertical N wall hung with slates. Asymmetrical E and W gables, E gable windowless, the W gable with strip windows, the low S wall also with strip windows and the N wall with a full-height glazed bay at the left end lighting the altar. The glazing of the whole church is in metal-framed leaded narrow lights in concrete recessed frames, and the lights are in close-set vertical strips recessed in the brickwork.
The W wall, now the entrance, has a plain doorway to right with concrete lintel, and double plank doors. The windows are in 7 strips, rising in height from right to left and each strip alternately of 2 or 3 lights one above the other, such that the divisions between set up a stepped rhythm across the facade. The N wall has a low brick plinth with concrete massive gutter beam with central rainwater-head. The slate-hung steep wall above slopes back, leaving the vertical-glazed bay at the left standing clear, this has copper-clad sides, metal-sheet sloping top (formerly copper) and glazing in 9 long lights with timber mullions and alternate transoms. The S wall has vertical strip glazing, first 4 strips (to porch) had 3 lights each, but bottom 2 are blocked in each strip. Main church has 3 sets of 4 strips and an additional pair, each with a long lower strip now blocked, then lights under eaves only 1, 4 and 3 lights over square porch with flat roof, concrete band at lintel height and concrete parapet. Blocked opening W, original main entry is recessed on E side, under concrete lintel, with double doors. Vestry runs E from SE corner, similar to porch with concrete parapet to flat roof, the 6 narrow single-light S windows are set to left and each is in a raised concrete frame. Windowless E end, 3 windows to N side.

Interior

Impressive single space with white-painted brick walls supported by 6 laminated-wood trusses of dramatic form creating a nave and S aisle. The trusses are of an overall N-shape carrying the roof-beams that slope from N to S. A raking upright on the sloping N wall supports the end of a massive cruck-like curved beam rising from the floor, the bottom end back-to back with another raking beam rising up to the underside of the roof-beam. Wood-block floors, raised at W end by one step for choir seating. E end sanctuary is raised a step and paved with stone slabs. Whitewashed brick E end wall with door to right under concrete lintel into vestry. Whitewashed brickwork at SW corner, containing entrance porch.
S wall has vertical strip windows, the longer lower lights blocked, 3 sets of 4 lights, one of 2 and then glazing at top only of 1-4-3 lights over doorway to SE porch. Concrete lintel, double doors. Porch is disused and infilled. SW porch has 4 strips of glazing, the lower lights blocked. Vestry has small kitchen and larger room beyond with single narrow lights set high, 3 in kitchen S wall, 7 in vestry S, 3 in vestry N wall.
Fittings: sanctuary has simple rails with black-painted metal uprights to timber rail. Matching pulpit at L end. Contemporary matching pulpit, lectern, stoup, and candlesticks; stools and seat. Free-standing ashlar altar of massive slab with chamfered tooled edges, carried on tooled-stone piers. On E wall a black painted metal equal-armed cross with square crown-of-thorns motif around intersection and letters INRI flanking top arm. In NW corner a full-height square enclosure with wide-spaced vertical slats contains the organ (by G. Osmond of Taunton). Step at W end has choir stalls of similar design to altar rails. To N of stalls is monolith ashlar font, 12-sided bowl chamfered below to hexagonal stem, the 6 sides broached to 12-sided base.

Reasons for Listing

An important church by the leading ecclesiastical architect of the period, included for the radical nature and high quality of the design and structure and as exemplifying new architectural solutions to contemporary concerns about worship and liturgy.

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.