Swansea - St Mary's Collegiate & Parish Church
Christians have worshipped on this site since the Middle Ages, and this church is probably the fifth to be built here.
The current church building stands rebuilt following the destruction in the Blitz of 1941.
The first church may date back as far as the 12th century, with the 14th century seeing the rebuilding of St Mary's in the decorated Gothic style, and by 1343 it is known to have contained at least two subsidiary chapels dedicated to St Anne and the Holy Trinity.
There were extensive changes to the interior during the Reformation, with vestments being abandoned and worship offered in English or Welsh. By 1700 serious weaknesses were starting to appear in the fabric of the building, culminating with the collapse of the nave in 1739. The replacement nave was small and cheap. A new organ was added in the 1760s, gas lighting in the early 1820s, and bells in 1720 and 1879.
In the 1890s the church was reconstructed when the 14th century chancel and tower with the 18th century nave were replaced by a unified early English gothic design of Sir Arthur Blomfield. Blomfield's church burned to the ground in February 1941 during the blitz. The present church was consecrated in 1959 following the original blueprint. The church today has many examples of contemporary stained glass and design.
Mary and Martha
Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd, designer E Liddall Armitage 1958-9
Chancel
Swansea - St Mary's Collegiate & Parish Church
Christians have worshipped on this site since the Middle Ages, and this church is probably the fifth to be built here.
The current church building stands rebuilt following the destruction in the Blitz of 1941.
The first church may date back as far as the 12th century, with the 14th century seeing the rebuilding of St Mary's in the decorated Gothic style, and by 1343 it is known to have contained at least two subsidiary chapels dedicated to St Anne and the Holy Trinity.
There were extensive changes to the interior during the Reformation, with vestments being abandoned and worship offered in English or Welsh. By 1700 serious weaknesses were starting to appear in the fabric of the building, culminating with the collapse of the nave in 1739. The replacement nave was small and cheap. A new organ was added in the 1760s, gas lighting in the early 1820s, and bells in 1720 and 1879.
In the 1890s the church was reconstructed when the 14th century chancel and tower with the 18th century nave were replaced by a unified early English gothic design of Sir Arthur Blomfield. Blomfield's church burned to the ground in February 1941 during the blitz. The present church was consecrated in 1959 following the original blueprint. The church today has many examples of contemporary stained glass and design.
Mary and Martha
Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd, designer E Liddall Armitage 1958-9
Chancel