Description
Dr Geoffrey Orrin’s study contains a detailed account of all those Anglican churches within the county of Glamorgan that were built, rebuilt, restored or re-modelled in any significant way during the Victorian period, 1837-1901. It includes as well as the churches within the county that were part of the diocese of Llandaff, those Anglican places of worship within the deanery of Gower in the western part of that county which was included within the diocese of St David’s. The author has closely studied and observed every church in person in addition to assembling all the relevant material he could find amid a wide range of manuscripts and printed sources relating to the work undertaken on the churches. Many churches now demolished or redundant are included in this work. The whole is arranged parish by parish, set out in alphabetical order. The result is the standard work of reference for all those interested in church building and restoration in Victorian times for local historians, students of church history in Glamorgan, clergy, parishioners, librarians and architectural historians. The work is illustrated by 60 monochrome photographs, some of which have never been published before.
Dr Geoffrey R. Orrin was born in Mumbles, near Swansea and is a graduate of its University. A compulsive church crawler, he is the author of The Gower Churches (1979), A History of Bishopston (1982), Medieval Churches of the Vale of Glamorgan (1988) and co-author with Dr F.G. Cowley of A History of All Saints’ Church, Oystermouth (1990). He has contributed several articles on church history to Gower and recently to Morgannwg. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Before retirement to Somerset he was Sub-Librarian Technical Services at the University of Wales, Swansea.
“The work bears witness to massive research as a detailed reference work . . . There can be no rival to this work within the compass of the time, the Victorian period, and the intended geography, the old county of Glamorgan, which extended from Rhosili to Cardiff.” —
www.gwales.com “. . . will be of great value to all seeking a detailed yet succinct description of the legacy of Victorian church building and restoration throughout Glamorgan. He is to be congratulated on completing such a substantial survey and for presenting it in such an accessible form.” –
Gower “. . . Dr Orrin has collected a huge amount of valuable information, which will benefit researchers for many years.” –Archaeologia Cambrensis
