St Mary’s Church, Betws-y-Coed

St Mary’s Church, in the village of Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Wales, is an active Anglican parish church in the archdeaconry of Bangor and the diocese of Bangor.^[1] Built between 1870 and 1873, it is a designated Grade II* listed buildingStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection..^[2]

The church was built to accommodate the increasing number of summer visitors to the area. Designed by the Lancaster partnership of Paley and Austin, its principal benefactor was the Liverpool businessman Charles Kurtz. St Mary’s was consecrated in July 1873, and provided seating for 150 people.^[3] It replaced a medieval church dedicated to Saint Michael, and cost £5,000 to build, equivalent to about £3.4 million as at 2023.^[a]Calculated using the labour cost of the project.^[4] The tower was completed in 1907.^[2]

Architecture

Exterior

St Mary’s is constructed in rubble stone with sandstone dressings, and it has slated roofs.^[2] Its architectural style is Transitional Norman.^[5] The plan is cruciform, with a tower at the crossing and an organ chamber to its south. To the west of the crossing is a four-bay naveCentral part of a church, used by the laiety. with a clerestory, north and south aisles, and a north porch. To the east of the crossing is a chancelPart of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy.. On the north side of the tower is a four-stage stair turret with a conical roof. The middle stage of the tower has lancet windowsTall, narrow window typically associated with the Gothic architectural style., and in the top stage are louvred lancets flanking clock faces. On the south side is blind arcading. The parapet is stepped at the corners. Along the sides of aisles, clerestories and chancel are more lancet windows. At the east end is a five-light window with plate tracery, and at the west end is a rose window, also with plate tracery.^[2]

Interior

Inside the church are arcades with pointed arches. The font is constructed in black and burgundy marble, and the pulpit is in sandstone; both are in Early English style. The chancel is floored with tiles, and has an aumbryCupboard or recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church, used for storing holy oils or the reserved sacrament. in its north wall. The choir stalls and reading desks are in Arts and Crafts style. The reredosLarge ornamented wall, screen, or other structure placed behind the altar in a Christian church., inserted in 1929, is in Italian alabaster, and depicts the Passion of Christ. Most of the stained glass was made by Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster. Other windows were made by Jones and Willis, based on designs by Edward Burne-Jones.^[2]

The two-manual organ was built in 1870 by Gray and Davison. It was enlarged in about 1913, again in about 1920 by the same firm, and rebuilt by Wood Wordsworth and Company in 1969.^[6]