St John's Church, Barmouth
| Church of Saint John the Evangelist | |
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Photo of St John's Church taken from Barmouth Beach
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| Coordinates: 52°43′24″N 4°03′17″W / 52.7233°N 4.0548°W | |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| Churchmanship | High Church |
| Website | barmouth |
| History | |
| Dedication | St John the Evangelist |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Bro Ardudwy |
| Deanery | Ardudwy |
| Diocese | Bangor |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Rev. Beth Bailey |
| Curate(s) | Rev. Miriam Beecroft |
St John's Church, Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales was built between 1889 and 1895 and designed by the Chester architects Douglas and Fordham. The foundation stone was laid by Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. The bulk of the cost of construction was donated by Mrs Sarah Dyson Perrins in memory of her husband James Dyson Perrins (father of Charles William Dyson Perrins) of Lea & Perrins.
The church belongs to the Church in Wales. It is a grade II* listed building, and was given this status by Cadw on 31 January 1995. It is part of the Ardudwy with Barmouth Ministry Area.
In 1830, a new church was opened in Barmouth on the quayside dedicated to Saint David. This church was built to accommodate an increasing population since the ancient church in Llanaber is over a mile away from the town centre.
During this period the railways had not reached this part of the Welsh coast and as such Barmouth was still reliant on the maritime industry. This changed in the 1860s with the arrival of the railway resulting in a vast increase in the number of tourists.
Soon after the Reverend Edward Hughes became rector of the parish of Llanaber and Barmouth in 1887 he realised that Barmouth needed a larger place of worship. Many trials were carried out in St David's to try and increase the seating capacity but these attempts proved fruitless.
During 1887 Reverend Hughes proposed the idea of building a larger place of worship to the Churchwardens and the Parochial Church Council, who agreed and the work of finding a suitable location began.
With Barmouth's geographical location between the mountains and sea, building locations were limited. However a donation of a rocky precipice above the town was accepted as the final choice.
A design by architects Douglas and Fordham was chosen and fundraising efforts begun. An unexpected donation of £15,000 from Mrs Sarah Perrins, widow of James Dyson Perrins and mother of Charles William Dyson Perrins was gratefully received and provided funding for the chancel, central tower, lady chapel and vestry to be built as a memorial to her late husband. Mrs Sarah Perrins and her family owned a holiday home in Barmouth called Plas Mynach and would have been aware of the need to build a larger church.
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Wikipedia