Tremadog church and Coadestone arch

This church, built in 1811, was an important part of William Madocks’ model settlement at Tremadog. This was where he and other affluent members of society worshipped. Some of them questioned his decision to provide land for the ornate Peniel Chapel, which is on the opposite side of the road. William appreciated that many of his workers were Noncomformists and he wanted to ensure that they attended regular worship.

Drawing of Tremadog church and other buildings in 1865The drawing, courtesy of the National Library of Wales, shows the church and other buildings in 1865.

At the front of the churchyard stands a highly decorated arch. It is of Coadestone, a material made in London from 1769 using a clay-like substance which could be sculpted for statues or architectural features.

Inside the church is the family vault of John Williams, William Madocks’ agent who oversaw construction of Tremadog and the Cob, as you can read on our page about John’s former lodgings. John died in 1850 and was succeeded as agent by his son, master mariner William Thomas Massey Williams, who was buried at the church in 1856.

The next agents of the Tremadog estate were David Williams, brother of John’s wife Anne, then Edward Breese, her nephew. Anne hailed from Saethon, near Llanengan on the Llŷn Peninsula, and was buried in the vault in 1865.

The church clock was previously in the Market Hall in Derby. It was brought here in 1862 at a cost of £80. It was installed here by clockmaker David Griffith, a poet and Archdruid of the Gorsedd of Bards whose bardic name was Clwydfardd.

In 1917 a reredos (wooden screen) was installed in the church. It had been carved by Emile de Vynch, a wartime refugee from German-occupied Belgium, as a copy of a screen in Louvain cathedral.

The church closed in 1995 and, following renovation, is now a community facility managed by Cyfeillion Cadw Tremadog. In December 2017 it became the new home of Ffestiniog Travel, which specialises in railway-based holidays.

Postcode: LL49 9RA    View Location Map

Website of Cyfeillion Cadw Tremadog

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