St John the Baptist, Cardiff

Mainly 15c.; renovated and extended 19c.

This is the parish church of the city of Cardiff. It was founded in the early medieval period (see "The Church"), but the present building dates mainly from the fifteenth century, when the splendid tower was added by an architect named only as Hart (see Lewis). As the 1897 Illustrated Guide to Cardiff says, "it is crowned with an embattled parapet of delicate tracery, with angular pinnacles of open work of light and beautiful character, and the doorway and belfry windows are ornamented with finely pointed and richly moulded arches." [Commentary continues below.]

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee

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