Eglwys Crist (Christ Church), Llandinorwig

Heritage listing

Reason for designation: Included as a fine high Victorian church provided by the Assheton Smith family as a place of Anglican worship for its slate quarry workers; good, largely unaltered interior. Makes a striking landscape group with the nearby Cefn-y-Waen Chapel, the 2 buildings forming a graphic example of the C19 competition between Church and Chapel. History: Built in 1857 by diocesan architect, Henry Kennedy, with funds given by Thomas Assheton Smith in order to provide an Anglican place of worship close to the Dinorwic Slate Quarry owned and developed by the Assheton Smith family. Several fittings from the former Church of St Mary, Dinorwic (now disused) have recently been brought here. Exterior: Victorian Decorated style. Nave, chancel, north and south aisles, north vestry, south organ chamber, south porch and western tower with spire. Roughly coursed rock-faced rubblestone with ashlar dressings, including to plinth and continuous cill band; gable-ended slate roofs with stepped coping and stumpy stone crosses to gables. Nave is hidden from view by the 2 equal-height aisles, both having paired pointed 2-light windows with elaborate cusped tracery and head-stops to west gable ends; similar single window to east end and east bay of north aisle and to east and west bays of south aisle, the centre and west bays on north having paired steeply pointed Tudor-arched windows, again with elaborate cusped tracery and label-stops; same windows to centre bay of south aisle and in west bay (to east of window) a gabled porch which has pointed outer doorway with decorated strap-hinged plank door and twin rectangular slit windows to sides; ribbed inner door. Chancel has large 3-light pointed window with label-stops; lean-to vestry on north has integral lateral stack to north, sm

From Cadw under OGL v3.