St Ciwg, Llangiwg. A medieval church altered in the Georgian period, it is deconsecrated and redundant – a rare ancient survival in a modern, industrial landscape. It has been bought by parishioner and passed on to a community group. Intended reuse of the church includes concerts and other events. The SPAB is pleased that repairs are in the hands of a member of the Society, and that a sensitive new use for the ancient building now seems achievable. Left, the tower’s remarkable lean
higher levels that many of the area’s medieval churches are to be found. From them the views are of scattered, traditional farmsteads – a landscape centuries away from the conurbation below. Such is the case of Llangiwg church, alone
on a hillside, the population now centred round the mainly 19th-century town of Pontardawe in the valley. It is a medieval church, “considerably altered in 1812”, as a plaque records, on an earlier site. Its congregation diminished and it was declared redundant and deconsecrated in the early years of this century. Put up for sale, it was bought, in a brave leap of faith, by a loyal parishioner and has now been transferred to the Llangiwg Community Association, with The Friends of Llangiwg promoting an ambitious programme of community and cultural activities. As this is a deconsecrated church, though the
ALL IMAGES: JOHN LAWRENCE
lovely graveyard and surrounding traditional stone wall are retained by the Church in Wales, the consultation for listed building consent came from Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.A joint visit with the Georgian Group, as the medieval church was remodelled in the early 19th century, elucidated the special circumstances of this secular church. It was encouraging to find that the programme of repairs and alterations was being directed by an SPAB member, in sympathy with SPAB values and open to suggestions and discussion. The main intervention is the erection of a
balustraded mezzanine or gallery, not inappropriate in a part-Georgian interior, to provide extra seating for concerts and events. The modest box pews and incomplete dado panelling are to be retained, though a section partly reconfigured. Monuments including an unusual early-Christian stone are to be
Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 2 2011 23
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