Eglwys Dewi Sant - Church in Wales - Cardiff Capitol of Wales. - Anglican and Episcopal Churches on Waymarking.com

EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID'S CHURCH.

"After 1870 Welsh services were held in various locations in the town, including St. Andrew's, but by the late 1880s, the strength of feeling was such that a renewed effort was made to re-establish a Welsh church. As the first stage, a new church hall - Capel Dewi Sant - was opened in Howard Gardens for this purpose in 1889. Rapid progress was now made towards construction of a new Eglwys Dewi Sant and this opened , adjacent to the church hall, in 1891, with the land for the hall and church being given by Lord Tredegar." From the church We Site. (visit link)


From the Church Web Site:
Welcome to Eglwys Dewi Sant's home page. As a Church we seek to serve the Welsh speaking population of Cardiff. This includes those who have moved into the city from other parts of Wales and those who have been born and brought up in our capital city. We have a particular responsibility for those who wish to learn Welsh and for people who would like greater access to the Welsh culture and way of life. If you want any details, please contact the church wardens.

The church is open to visitors every Wednesday from early March through to the end of November between 11.00am and 5.00pm. There is a service of Holy Communion (in Welsh) in the church every Wednesday mornig at 10.30am. We welcome visitors. Text source: (visit link)

From the Church Web Site in Welsh then in English:

Eglwys Dewi Sant yn ei safle presennol yw eglwys blwyf siaradwyr Cymraeg Caerdydd a’r cylch, ond nid felly y bu erioed.

EGLWYS YR HOLL SAINT - ALL SAINTS CHURCH (Stryd Tyndall)
Yn hanesyddol, dinas ddiweddar iawn yw Caerdydd, ac mae’n hawdd anghofio mai poblogaeth o tua 2,000 yn unig oedd ganddi yn 1800 - ychydig mwy na phentref mawr. Fodd bynnag, gyda dyfodiad diwydiant yn y gefnwlad a thwf y dociau, tyfodd y dref yn gyflym, nes cyrraedd poblogaeth o bron i 20,000 yn 1850. Erbyn hyn, yr oedd mudiad ar droed i sefydlu eglwys Gymraeg yng Nghaerdydd. Aed ati i chwilio am safle canolog, a daethpwyd o hyd i un yn Stryd Tyndall. Goresgynwyd y rhwystr cyntaf pan roddodd Ardalydd Bute y cyfalaf i brynu’r tir, ond yr oedd yn amlwg hefyd y byddai codi’r arian i adeiladu’r eglwys yn broses hir a llafurus. Bryd hyn dywedodd Ardalyddes Bute wrth y trefnwyr y byddai’n adeiladu’r eglwys ar ei thraul ei hun. Dylid nodi bod gan yr Ardalyddes ddiddordeb mawr yn narpariaeth gwasanaethau Cymraeg yn yr holl blwyfi a leolwyd yn ei hystadau eang yn ne Cymru, a dilynodd ddatblygiad y prosiect â chryn ddiddordeb. Y canlyniad fu sefydlu Eglwys yr Holl Saint yn Stryd Tyndall, a agorwyd yn 1856. Fodd bynnag, o ganlyniad i ddatblygu diwydiannol, amgylchynwyd yr eglwys ar dair ochr gan draphontydd rheilffyrdd, ac ar y bedwaredd gan y dociau, a Gwyddelod oedd mwyafrif y boblogaeth oddi amgylch. Yn ogystal â hyn, yr oedd cymuned y siaradwyr Cymraeg wedi ei lleoli yn bennaf mewn rhannau eraill o’r dref, a bu dirywiad anochel yn y gynulleidfa. O ganlyniad i hyn, erbyn 1870, aethai’r eglwys yn All Saints Church, â gwasanaethau yn y Saesneg yn unig.

EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID’S CHURCH (Gerddi Howard)
Wedi 1870, cynhaliwyd gwasanaethau Cymraeg mewn gwahanol fannau yn y dref, gan gynnwys Eglwys San Andreas, ond erbyn diwedd yr 1880au, yr oedd teimladau mor gryf nes y gwnaed ymdrech i ailsefydlu eglwys Gymraeg. Yn gam cyntaf, agorwyd neuadd eglwys newydd - Capel Dewi Sant - yng Ngerddi Howard yn 1889. Bellach yr oedd y gwaith o adeiladu Eglwys Dewi Sant newydd yn mynd yn ei flaen yn dda, ac agorodd hon, gerllaw neuadd yr eglwys, yn 1891, gyda’r tir ar gyfer y neuadd a’r eglwys wedi ei roi gan Arglwydd Tredegar.

Parhaodd Eglwys Dewi Sant yn rhan o blwyf Eglwys yr Holl Saint tan 1922 pan ddaeth yn blwyf annibynnol â’i ffiniau, yn anarferol iawn, wedi eu cyfyngu i gyffiniau’r eglwys.

Yn 1941, yn nghanol yr Ail Ryfel Byd, difrodwyd Eglwys Dewi Sant yn ddifrifol gan gyrch awyr, a throsglwyddwyd gwasanaethau i neuadd yr eglwys.

EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID’S CHURCH (Cilgant San Andreas)
Wedi diwedd y rhyfel, cafwyd trafodaethau niferus ac amrywiol dros sawl blwyddyn ynglûn ag a ddylid ailgodi’r hen eglwys neu symud i safle newydd. Yn ystod y cyfnod hwn, gostyngodd poblogaeth canol y ddinas yn ddifrifol, gyda thai yn cael eu haddasu ar gyfer swyddfeydd a dibenion eraill. Arweiniodd hyn at gau Eglwys San Andreas, a symudodd gweddill ei chynulleidfa i Eglwys Teilo Sant yn 1954, tra y cytunodd cynulleidfa Dewi Sant i’r symud arfaethedig i Eglwys San Andreas. Cyn i hyn ddigwydd, fodd bynnag, gwnaed newidiadau amrywiol i du mewn yr eglwys, gan gynnwys byrhau corff yr eglwys er mwyn creu neuadd eglwys, a symud sgrîn y grog i’w hymgorffori yn rhan o wal orllewinol yr eglwys. (Tra yr oedd y gwaith hwn yn mynd rhagddo, daethpwyd o hyd i sypyn yn cynnwys nifer o ddarnau deinameit a thanwyr o dan y ddarllenfa, ond erys yr amgylchiadau a phwy a fu’n gyfrifol am hyn yn ddirgelwch hyd heddiw.)

Ar wyl yr Holl Saint -1 Tachwedd -1956, ailgysegrwyd yr Eglwys Dewi Sant newydd gan Archesgob Cymru ac erys hyd heddiw yn eglwys blwyf ar gyfer siaradwyr Cymraeg Caerdydd a’r cyffiniau.

EGLWYS SAN ANDREAS
Wrth i boblogaeth Caerdydd dyfu yn ail hanner y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, daeth angen am eglwys ychwanegol. Lluniodd y penseiri John Prichard a John Pollard Seddon gynlluniau ar gyfer yr eglwys newydd, a dechreuwyd ar y gwaith yn 1860. Fodd bynnag, daeth yr arian i ben a bu’n rhaid rhoi terfyn ar y gwaith â’r eglwys ar ei hanner. Nid ymddangosodd y twr a’r meindwr arfaethedig erioed, a chwblhawyd yr eglwys mewn dull llai cymhleth a llai costus gan Alexander Roos, pensaer Ystâd Bute, a oedd hefyd wedi cynllunio eglwys gynharach Stryd Tyndall. (Mae’r muriau o garreg leol gyda cherrig nadd Caerfaddon a bandiau o dywodfaen Pennant). Yn 1886, paentiodd C.F.A. Voysey, a oedd yn cydweithio’n agos â William Morris a’r mudiad Celfyddyd a Chrefft, furluniau hardd ar naill ochr cilfach y cysegr, ond diflannodd y rhain pan osodwyd yr allor dderw a’r reredos yn 1924.

Yn wreiddiol yr eglwys oedd uchafbwynt golygfa yn dechrau o Stryd y Frenhines ac yn arwain ar hyd heol lydan, goediog Windsor Place i’r eglwys ei hun, wedi ei lleoli mewn cilgant hirgrwn. Er bod hon bellach yn ardal gadwraeth, mae addasiadau ar gyfer gofynion trafnidiaeth fodern, gan gynnwys ffordd ddeuol, wedi lleihau effeithioldeb yr olgyfa honno i bob pwrpas ac wedi ynysu’r eglwys.



EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID'S CHURCH
The Church for Welsh-Speaking People in Cardiff

The present Eglwys Dewi Sant is the parish church for the Welsh-speaking people of Cardiff and the surrounding district but this has not always been the case.

EGLWYS HOLL SAINT - ALL SAINTS CHURCH (Tyndall Street)
Historically speaking, Cardiff is a very recent city and it is easy to forget that, in 1800, it had a population of only some 2000 people - little more than a large village. However, with the advent of industrialisation in the hinterland and the growth of the docks, the town grew rapidly until, by 1850, the population had become nearly 20,000. By this time a movement was growing to establish a Welsh church in Cardiff and a central site was sought and duly located in Tyndall Street. The initial hurdle was overcome when the Marquis of Bute provided the capital to acquire the land but it was also clear that raising the funds to build the church would be a long and arduous process. At this point the Marchioness of Bute informed the organisers that she would build the church at her expense. The Marchioness, it should be noted, was extremely interested in the provision of Welsh services throughout the parishes located in her large estates in South Wales and followed progress on the project with close interest. The outcome was the establishment of Eglwys Holl Saint (All Saints' Church) in Tyndall Street which opened in 1856. .However, as a result of industrial development the church became surrounded on three sides by railway viaducts and on the fourth by the docks, while the surrounding population was largely Irish. Additionally, the Welsh-speaking community was now largely located in other parts of the town and there was an inevitable decline in the congregation.As a result, by 1870, the church had become All Saints' Church with English services only.

EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID'S CHURCH (Howard Gardens)
After 1870 Welsh services were held in various locations in the town, including St. Andrew's, but by the late 1880s, the strength of feeling was such that a renewed effort was made to re-establish a Welsh church. As the first stage, a new church hall - Capel Dewi Sant - was opened in Howard Gardens for this purpose in 1889. Rapid progress was now made towards construction of a new Eglwys Dewi Sant and this opened , adjacent to the church hall, in 1891, with the land for the hall and church being given by Lord Tredegar.

Eglwys Dewi Sant remained as part of the Parish of All Saints until 1922 when it became an independent parish whose boundaries were, most unusually, limited to the church's precincts.

In 1941 Eglwys Dewi Sant was severely damaged by an air-raid and services were transferred to the church hall.

EGLWYS DEWI SANT - SAINT DAVID'S CHURCH (St. Andrew's Crescent)
After the end of the war, there were numerous and varied discussions over many years as to whether the old church should be rebuilt or a move made to a new location. During this period, the population of the inner city declined sharply, with houses being adapted for offices and other purposes. This led to the closure of Saint Andrew's Church, whose remaining congregation moved to Saint Teilo's Church in 1954 while the congregation of Dewi Sant agreed to the proposed move to Saint Andrew's. Before this took place, however,various modifications were made to the interior of the church, including the shortening of the nave to provide a church hall, and the removal of the rood screen and its incorporation into the west wall of the nave.(While this work was in progress, a bundle containing a number of sticks of dynamite and some detonators was found underneath the lectern but the underlying circumstances and the individuals responsible remain a mystery to this day).

On All Saints Day - 1st November 1956 - the new Eglwys Dewi Sant was reconsecrated by the Archbishop of Wales and remains the parish church for the Welsh-speaking people of Cardiff and the surrounding district to this day.

SAINT ANDREW'S CHURCH
As the population of the residential centre of Cardiff increased in the second half of the 19th century, so there became a need for an additional church.The architects John Prichard and John Pollard Seddon drew up designs for the new church and work commenced in 1860. However, funds ran out and work had to be halted with the church half-built.The intended tower and spire never materialised and the church was completed in a less elaborate and less expensive manner by Alexander Roos, the architect for the Bute Estate, who had also designed the earlier Tyndall Street church. (The walls are of local stone with Bath stone ashlars and Pennant sandstone bands). In 1886, C. F. A. Voysey, who was a close associate of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, executed some fine murals on either side of the sanctuary recess but these disappeared when the oak altar and the reredos were installed in 1924.

Originally the church was the apex of a vista starting from Queen Street and leading up through the broad, tree-lined Windsor Place to the church itself , located in an oval crescent. Although this is now a conservation area , adaptations for modern traffic requirements, including a dual carriageway, have effectively dimished the effectiveness of that vista and isolated the church. " Source: (visit link)

Street address of Church:
Eglwys Dewi Sant Church
St Andrews Crecent
City & County of Cardiff.
Wales
CF10 3DD

Active Church: Yes School on property: No Date Built: 01/01/1891 Website: [Web Link] Service Times: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the Church. Please try to keep your GPSr out of the photo.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   01/26/2014 veritas vita visited it 05/02/2013 Superted visited it

View all visits/logs