History in Structure

Church of St Joseph

A Grade II Listed Building in Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.5952 / 51°35'42"N

Longitude: -3.7884 / 3°47'18"W

OS Eastings: 276215

OS Northings: 190004

OS Grid: SS762900

Mapcode National: GBR H3.BPSX

Mapcode Global: VH5H1.951F

Plus Code: 9C3RH6W6+3J

Entry Name: Church of St Joseph

Listing Date: 31 January 2000

Last Amended: 31 January 2000

Grade: II

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 22803

Building Class: Religious, Ritual and Funerary

ID on this website: 300022803

Location: Fronting the street, which continues as a path to the Aberavon shopping centre. The entrance is to the E and the chancel to the W.

County: Neath Port Talbot

Town: Port Talbot

Community: Aberavon (Aberafan)

Community: Aberavon

Built-Up Area: Port Talbot

Traditional County: Glamorgan

Tagged with: Church building

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History

Roman Catholic church of 1930, by F R Bates and Son. Early Christian style with basilican interior. Replacing an earlier church of 1862.

Exterior

SE tower and campanile, nave, apsidal chancel, N and S aisles and S vestry. Constructed of red brick under slate roofs, with projecting boarded eaves and simple red brick dressings to small round-headed multi-pane windows. The E gable-end facade has a pronounced triangular pediment, with pale stone dressings decorated with modillions and dentils, and surmounted by a cross finial. Central gabled porch of whitened stone. Tapering round columns with cushion capitals support a round arched entrance with panelled soffit. The sides of the porch are open. Plain tympanum over flat-headed doorway containing panelled double doors. The entrance is flanked by single round-headed lights. Above the porch is a large circular window with horizontal and vertical glazing bars. The tower to the L is slightly set back, and has 2 small round-headed windows, one above the other. The upper stage of the tower has pairs of round-headed louvres to each side, all with tile sills. Pronounced Lombard frieze in pale stone supporting a few courses of red brick, above which is a hipped roof with tall finial. To the R of the nave is the lean-to N aisle. Its E end is decorated with a Lombard frieze in red brick, below which is a pair of round-headed lights.

The S and N sides have 8 round-headed clerestorey windows above single storey lean-to aisles which continue to the W end of the nave. A flat-roofed bay abuts the S side of the tower, with a single light over a flat-headed panelled door. The S aisle has pairs of round-headed lights, each with a central pier with chamfered angles. Towards the centre of the elevation is a catslide projection, beyond which is a flat-roofed entrance block also containing the vestry. The doorway faces E and is flat-headed with panelled door, R of which is a date stone bearing the name of the architect. The N side has a square headed projection in angle of nave and aisle to the L, then to the R, a pair of round-headed lights, a flat headed porch and then a catslide projection. Further pairs of windows beyond.

Projecting from the W gable end is the leaded dome of the apsidal chancel. Beneath the dome are 3 single round-headed lights. Projecting stack to R. The ends of the aisles have smaller leaded domes to apsidal-ended altars, also with single round-headed lights.

Interior

Basilican interior. Narthex at E end with blind round arches to each side. Three round-headed doorways lead into the nave, with double panelled half-lit doors and overlights with radial glazing. Above is a gallery with 3-panel front supported on 4 moulded corbels. The organ is located on the N side of the gallery. To the L of the narthex front are late C20 double doors leading to a small shop. To the S is a panelled door within a round arch, providing access to the gallery. The nave has 7-bay arcades consisting of tapering round columns with cushion capitals supporting round arches. Clerestorey windows directly above the arches, those to the E end over the gallery, all with deeply splayed sills and pink and yellow stained glass, including IHS and fleur-de-lis motifs. Eight-bay roof to nave; tie-beam trusses supporting semi-circular brace to centre between vertical struts and with further arched braces flanking. The aisles have wood-panelled ceilings and pairs of round-headed lights within large full-height round arches. Each pair of lights share a central pier with chamfered angles, base and capital. Hoppers to bases of windows, pink and yellow stained glass beneath heads. Pairs of round-headed double doors lead out to each side, into the catslide projections, some with blind balustrading to the upper tier. Pews with carved bench ends. Round-headed stoups at intervals around walls.

Round moulded chancel arch supported on tall pilasters with short square capitals. Apsidal chancel with cornice continuing from capitals. Stained glass to the 3 lights, of biblical figures, flanked by piscinas. Three-tier stepped altar of dark green and white marble. Table in front of similar marble, faced with 3 panels of dark green marble. These are reached by stone steps. Flanking the chancel are smaller apses containing altars behind plain round arches. To the R is a 3-tier altar to the Sacred Heart, with yellow marble inlay. Piscina in wall to rear. Set in front is a stone altar rail consisting of round-arched balustrading. Offset to the R is an octagonal stone font with incised quatrefoils on a tall stem. No altar rail to L altar. Two doors lead out S into the vestry.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a rare and unaltered example of the Early Christian style in early C20 Welsh architecture.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

Other nearby listed buildings

  • II Church of St Mary
    Located in a quadrangular churchyard, encircled by the high-level A48. Just to the S of Aberavon shopping centre.
  • II Aberavon Bridge (partly in Port Talbot community)
    The bridge crosses the River Afan and serves as the physical link between the shopping centres of Aberavon and Port Talbot, the former a development of the 1990s. The roadway is now pedestrianised.
  • II Aberavon Bridge (partly in Aberavon community)
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  • II Forecourt Walls, Railings and Gates to Ebenezer Chapel
    Bounding the forecourt to Ebenezer Chapel and facing W.
  • II* Ebenezer Chapel
    In a prominent position in the square between the shopping centre and the Civic Centre, and backing onto the River Afan.
  • II Bethany Chapel
    In a prominent position in the centre of Port Talbot. The square is at the junction of Station Road and Forge Road.
  • II Afan Masonic Temple
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