St Edward's Church is a

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

church in

Penylan Penylan is a district and Community (Wales), community in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Edwardian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenue (landscape), avenues. Situated to both the north and ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, South Wales. It is a daughter church of

St Margaret's Church, Roath St Margaret's Church (, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch) is a nineteenth-century Church in Wales parish church in the suburb of Roath, Cardiff, Wales. It includes the mausoleum of the Marquises of Bute. History A church dedicated to St Mar ...

, the only one remaining in use after the closure of St Anne's in 2015.

History

Structure of 1915

A product of the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

, St Edward's was originally constructed in 1915, as a

tin tabernacle A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century, initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first u ...

, one of several in Cardiff at the time. The original structure unconventionally faced the west (rather than the east as is usual in churches). It opened in March 1915. On 11 September 1919, between midnight and 1 am, the church was almost completely destroyed by a fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault. Although the church was reduced to a wreck, many of the objects inside survived the blaze, including the communion vessels and 240 chairs. The remains of the building were demolished in 1919.

Structure of 1919

The Parish of Roath decided to reconstruct the building in memory of the fallen of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. A

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of brick with sandstone embellishments was built by Willmott and Smith, but funds ran short, causing the nave to be constructed of

galvanised iron Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are coated by submerging them in a bath of ...

. The new structure, unlike its predecessor, faced the east. A new organ, lectern, and vestments were soon provided. The large east window was added in later years, and the pulpit was added in 1953, having been salvaged from All Souls Chapel in

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks () is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coalfield, South Wales coal, the Po ...

, which had closed in 1952.

Reconstruction of 1968

By the late 1960s, the iron nave of the church had fallen into a poor condition. In 1968, it was removed and replaced in brick by the original architects of the 1919 structure (though the brick nave was somewhat shorter than the tin one).

Extension of 1992

In 1992, a brick extension to the church was added, providing a small vestibule, a washroom and a schoolroom. Previously the Sunday school had been held in the vestry.

Bell

After the 1919 rebuilding, a bell was installed in 1922. This had been made in 1815, and is thought to have been made from a cannon used in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. In 2015, the bell was taken down during repairs to the chancel, but was found to be in a very poor condition, and the church could not comfortably afford the repair bill. It was duly put into storage. In 2016, it was replaced with a smaller bell (dating from 1816).

Activities

St Edward's has a long musical tradition. It has its own resident orchestra, conducted by Alison Dite and holds a music festival each October. It has also houses exhibitions of art and drama performances.Rose, J. Cardiff Churches through Time. Amberley. 2013. p. 27

Gallery

File:Church of St Edward King and Confessor, Roath - geograph.org.uk - 625632.jpg, Church from Roath Brook Gardens File:St Edwards Roath interior.jpg, Interior, facing the chancel in 2018 File:St Edwards Roath founding stone.jpg, Stone laid after the 1919 rebuild, dated 4 June 1921 File:Panels in St Edward's, Roath.jpg, Wall panels made from the dismantled St Anne's pulpit File:St Edward's Roath Schoolroom.jpg, The 1992 extension

References

External links

St Edward's Church, Roath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edward's Church, Roath

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

Rebuilt church buildings in Wales Roath, St Edward Churches completed in 1915 Christian organizations established in 1915