The church of St Peter and Saint Cynidr is located on elevated ground above the east side of the main Hay-on-Wye to Brecon road (A438) in a large rectangular churchyard used as a cemetery. It was built in a plain Norman revival style in 1837-8 to designs of architect Lewis Vulliamy, to replace an earlier church located on lower lying ground to the west. The chancel was added in 1881 and the organ chamber in 1910. The church is built on a north-north-east by south-south-west alignment. Constructed of grey sandstone ashlar with pecked dressings and twentieth-century interlocking tile roof between raised gables, the church comprises three-bay nave with narrower two-bay chancel and a four-stage tower with entrance against the south (liturgical west) gable. Its parapet is straight but with large square spirelets with pyramidal tops rising at each corner, giving the building its distinctive appearance. The gabled vestry-organ chamber is added at right angles on the west (north) side of the chancel.
The interior is unplastered. The open rafter roof is carried on tie beam trusses bracketed from wall corbels, a collar and queen post arrangement with an arch between the spandrels filled with light geometric timberwork, all probably added during the restoration of 1910. The chancel is of three roof bays. The sanctuary is raised and tiled. Fittings include a font of 1635, octagonal with crude raised and incised ornament; an oak pulpit of 1878 with open cusping; an iron screen of 1882, with simple Gothic detail; and a terracotta and mosaic reredos by Powell's (1894). Stained glass is abundant and includes works by Newbery (c.1900) and Comper (1935).
Sources:
Extracts from Cadw Listing description.
R.Scourfield & R.Haslam, Buildings of Wales: Powys (2013), p.484-5.
Google Street View, September 2011.

RCAHMW, 4 September 2015