St Mary's Collegiate and Parish Church is an
Anglican church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
in the
centre of Swansea,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,
UK. It is considered the Civic Church of Swansea.
There was a church on the site of St Mary's since ''circa'' 1328, erected by
Henry de Gower,
Bishop of Saint David's. One Sunday morning, in 1739, the roof of the nave collapsed into the church while the congregation was waiting to enter the building. The whole structure was re-built apart from the tower. 1822 saw the church being lit by gas for the first time with thirty six lamps. The church underwent complete renovation between 1879 and 1882 by Vicar Dr Morgan. In 1896, the church was flattened and rebuilt again under the designs of
Arthur Blomfield by Dean Allan Smith, though some parts of the old church survived the re-development. In February 1941 the church was extensively damaged by Bombing during the
Blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
. It was not rebuilt until the 1950s.
Swansea heritage
From the 1890s the Swansea Devil stood on a set of buildings facing the west side of the church, constructed by a disgruntled rival of Blomfield's, angry at the commissioning of Blomfield's designs over his own.
Bells
The tower contains eight bells, which were cast in 1959 by John Taylor & Co
John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...
, Loughborough with the heaviest weighing 20cwt - 2qr - 12lb (1049.2 kg) in "E". Details of the bells:-
Images
File:Eglwys St Mary's Church, Swansea Abertawe Wales 01.jpg, View looking east towards the altar
File:Eglwys St Mary's Church Swansea Abertawe Wales 02.jpg, The Milllenium Window based on Revelation 22 v5. They need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever. "The sun sets on the city of Swansea but rises in the new Jerusalem"
File:Eglwys St Mary's Church Swansea Abertawe Wales 18.jpg, View looking west towards the back of the church
File:Eglwys St Mary's Church Swansea Abertawe Wales 24.jpg, The roof of the nave
File:Eglwys St. Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea Abertawe Wales 31.JPG, Aisle and columns
File:Eglwys St Mary's Church Swansea Abertawe Wales 34.jpg, The Font with its steel canopy reflecting the industrial heritage of Swansea.
File:Eglwys St. Mary's Church Swansea Abertawe Wales 39.jpg, The main door. The most impressive and best preserved part of the door of the blitzed church is the carving above where we see Jesus reigning in heaven surrounded by the four gospel writers in their traditional representations. Matthew is a man, Mark a lion, Luke a bull and John an eagle. This was carved by the notable Mr. Nicholls of Lambeth in London
References
External links
GENUKI: SwanseaSt Mary's Swansea websiteArtwork at St Mary's Church, Swansea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swansea, St Mary
Seansea
Collegiate churches in Wales
Grade II listed churches in Swansea
History of Swansea
Arthur Blomfield church buildings