St Michael and All Angels’ Catholic Church, Conwy

Wandering along Conwy’s city walls I had to stop and investigate what I’m sure you’ll agree is a pretty imposing sculpture that’s hard to miss. I was then even more intrigued to discover a whole row of sculptures some of which are attached onto the town walls.

The church here is a rather boring looking building that was closed when I was there – doing some digging it appears that it was closed in 2018 but the parishioners managed to appeal in 2020 to the Vatican for it to remain open though the only signs of life when I visited in 2022 were cars parked in the driveway. Anyway, it’s the sculptures outside, which are Grade II listed, which are the highlight of the church.

The church was built in 1916 but it was in the 1930s that it became a somewhat unlikely site of pilgrimage with this Lourdes Grotto being erected, and then the marble statues said to have been purchased from Italy.

Interestingly the number of Catholics in Conwy increased in the war years with the influx of soldiers, refugees, nuns evacuated from a convent in Lowestoft on the east coast of England and prisoners of war – both German and Italian – who were interned nearby including in Conwy, Llandudno and Llanrwst. In fact the church was given something of a makeover in the 1940s by a German prisoner of war who was also a professor of Art in Dusseldorf.

They are beautifully done and very detailed as you can see. And certainly a surprising site to come across.