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St Mary's Church, Bersham

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NPRN11629
Map ReferenceSJ34NW
Grid ReferenceSJ3052449279
Unitary (Local) AuthorityWrexham
Old CountyDenbighshire
CommunityEsclusham
Type Of SiteCHURCH
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
Built in 1873, architect J.Gibson, modified in 1892-3. Present status [2000]: unknown

A plaque over the doorway records 'This chapel was built by T.L.Fitzhugh for the use of his household and dependants. It was opened for divine service on the 6th January 1876 and it was consecrated with the vault as a private chapel by the Bishop of Saint Asaph on the 13th October 1883'. The architect was John Gibson, responsible for much of the work on the estate (including the remodelling of Plas Power itself in 1858) carried out for Thomas Lloyd Fitzhugh. The upper stage of the tower was added in 1892-3. The building remains a private chapel.Constructed of rock-faced rubble with free-stone dressings, and with leaded roofs, the church consists of a nave, a tower over NW porch, transepts and an apsidal chancel. It is built in a rich Romanesque style.

The 3 stage tower has a porch in the lower stage, which has a round arch outer doorway with chevron moulding and bands, billet moulding to the hood mould, and foliate capitals to the shafts. There are cast iron, cusped, open-work, panelled gates. There is similar detail to the inner archway. In the second stage is a narrow, round-arched window, and tall, paired, bell-chamber lights with scallop capitals to shafts above. These lights are divided by red sandstone shafts with bands and foliate capitals to an enriched corbel table. There is a short spire with arched pinnacles at the angles.

The west end has stepped, round-arched windows with a cable moulded string course and a continuous hood mould sprung from the outer shafts. The central shafts form a high blind arch over the central window, with a blind traceried rose at its apex.

The nave is articulated by buttresses, with a round-arched window with a banded voussoir head in each bay. The south transept has paired, round-arched windows, linked by a continuous impost band forming a small blind arch between the windows, and by a cabled moulded sill band. There is similar fenestration in the north transept, which has a small gabled porch to the east. The apsidal chancel has foliate capitals to shafts which carry chevron moulded arches over the round-headed windows. There is similar moulding to the surrounds of small oculi above the main windows.

The nave is of 3 bays, with transverse rib vaulting, the ribs sprung from red sandstone, engaged shafts on high bases with trumpet capitals. Similar, coupled, shafts carry the chancel arch, which is stepped and enriched with foliate bands. Crossing arches are also similar. The apse has a banded barrel vault, and rib-vaults defining the bays of the east end, which has banded voussoirs to grouped, pointed arched windows. The vaulting above them is pierced by tiny oculi.
There are deep splayed windows to the nave and south transept which also have banded voussoir heads. The fittings are largely contemporary, and include a pulpit with interlaced tracery and red marble shafts, with similar interlace detail to the communion rail, and the arcading in the reredos. There is a fine wrought corona over the choir.
The east windows form a series (undated figures of Love, Faith and Hope), with stars in the oculi above. Figures of Saint Mary Magdalen in occur in the transept windows, dated 1892.
(Source; Cadw listing database) S FIelding RCAHMW 08/09/2006