History

Mainly C14. Church was virtually derelict in mid C19. Revival began 1861 and full restoration carried out in 1878 at a cost of £500 under Revd Thomas Rees, with windows in Gothic Revival Perpendicular or Decorated. Records show as well as alterations to windows, also doors, floors and furnishings were renewed, the burial ground was levelled with new paths laid out and a wall provided for the churchyard; a service was held to mark completion of work. Living is traditionally alternately in the gift of the Earl of Plymouth and the Kemys Tynte family of Cefn Mably. Further fittings were added and additions made 1920s and 30s when much of Lisvane was being developed. Re-ordered in 1979 with N transept and hall extension by Berwyn Thomas; at this time the altar was moved to face obliquely down transept and nave, with choir re-sited in former sanctuary.

Exterior

Church comprising nave, chancel with lower roof, unusually sited SE porch, SW tower and NE vestry with extension. Of stone rubble with ashlar dresssings and Welsh slate roof. Unbuttressed tower has saddleback roof and battered walls; corbelled string and paired belfry lights in chamfered square headed surrounds, cusped lights to W, with plain, small, single lights to tower chamber below; segmental arched doorway of dressed stone on ground floor. S nave wall is battered towards the base; two restored square-headed windows, internally with deep reveals, W of porch. Porch with chamfered arched entrance, slate gabled roof, internal benches and stone flagged floor, blocked door; E of porch, a small C19 single-light nave window with cinquefoil head. SE wall of chancel has square-headed C19 window of 2 cusped lights; E window of 2 lights with quatrefoil tracery under a pointed hood. NE vestry now extended has a window of two cusped lights at NE; no windows to W or in N nave.

Interior

Interior walls have lost their plaster though the plastered ceiling to the barrelled roof is retained. Plain chamfered wide pointed chancel arch and similar to N transept, the two orders dying into the single-chamfered imposts. Squint between transept and chancel on N side. Deep splays to the windows. Tower arch has voussoirs; the tower timbers have been renewed but are chamfered and stopped. Benefaction Board of W Davies of Caerphilly, lozenge shaped plaque of 1802; simple early C19 plaques on either side of window; Frank Roper sanctuary statue from re-ordering of 1979. Small octagonal font on a circular shaft. Reported as retaining 3 C18 bells possibly cast by Evans of Chepstow.

Reasons for Listing

Listed II*as an important medieval parish church within the area round Cardiff.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• St Denys Church at Wikipedia
• St Denys Church official website
• Wikidata Q17741317

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)