St David – Cwmbran

Introduction

St David – Cwmbran in Cwmbran is a pre-Vatican II church on a longitudinal plan by F. R. Bates & Son, with echoes of Coventry Cathedral.

Architecture and furnishings

In 1963 St David’s became a separate parish. The building is of light steel portal frame construction with blockwork walls faced in grey engineering brick and render. The main body has shallow pitched slate roofs, while single-storey rendered elements have flat felted roofs. Inside, a porch with hardwood parquet floor leads into the main worship space, of longitudinal form with a wide nave and narrow circulation aisles and a sanctuary at the east end.

Square encased steel piers of slender section support the canted timber-framed roof, which is painted white with the interstices in red. Sawtooth windows to the north and south direct light towards the sanctuary; the Stations of the Cross are set on these angled walls. Below the forward altar is a large wooden relief of the Last Supper, and against the east wall a domed tabernacle is placed on a stepped retable of reconstituted marble. An oak font in the sanctuary is of more recent date.

Concrete frames the tall narrow windows, with saw-toothed fenestration in the nave and a staggered grid of concrete framed openings on the sanctuary side walls. A cry chapel with confessional and WCs lies to the south of the east end of the nave. On the north side, a corresponding space has a parish room with kitchen and serving hatch, plus a corridor to the side entrance, accessible WC, and sacristies. The sanctuary is raised one step and the altar one more.

Parish life

The parish runs a Hospital Ministry. The parish runs Children’s Liturgy. The parish offers RCIA (Journey of Faith) with registration. The parish has a Prayer Group.

The parish offers preparation for baptism. The sanctuary walls are generously side-lit. Above the tabernacle, visitors can see a wooden crucifix. The east and west elevations are windowless.