St Mary's church (Eglwys y Santes Fair), Tremadog is one of the earliest Gothic revival churches in Wales. It was completed in 1811 and is located on a rocky outcrop just below the main market place, in the heart of the village. It was paid for by William Alexander Madocks, founder of Tremadog and is now a grade 2 listed building.
The first time I saw this church was on a residential with my school Christian Union. We visited a mountain centre (no longer in existence) just down the road. In those days the church was still open, though I never went inside.
However, in 1995 the church was closed, and Cyfeillion Cadw Tremadog (Friends of Tremadog) began working to find an alternate use for the building. In 2003, permission was granted to convert the building to mixed use, with offices on the ground floor and the first floor being given over to a large meeting room for community use.
It is sad to see local churches close, but I am glad that the building has been saved and given a use which will benefit the community.
200 years old, celebrating its double centenary this year, still standing proudly as testament to all the many marriages, births and deaths it oversaw for so many decades.
ReplyDeleteI cannot begin to imagine how to pronounce those Welsh words, H! I assume you're able to?
While our churches are, of course, much younger than yours we are facing the same challenges. There are at least three that I can think of right away that are offered up for rental for special occasions, one that is now a condo building and one that is a conservatory of music. It's good that the buildings are being saved, in any case.
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