A GRANGETOWN church made famous in Doctor Who is to be partly converted into affordable housing.
The planning application by Wales and West Housing on Paget Street includes 12 one-bedroom apartments to be built in the nave of St Paul’s Church.
Two semi-detached houses would be added to the grounds, backing on to Llanmaes Road, while St Paul’s would continue to operate inside the refurbished chancel, with a planned extension to connect the new church to the existing community hall.
Dal Spinola, 77, has lived on Llanmaes Road for 59 years.
“My wife has lived here for 77 years, and I’ve lived here for 59 years. We were married in the church and our children were christened there. They were confirmed in the church, and all went to St Paul’s School which used to be part of the church,” he said.
The Doctor Who episode, Father’s Day, was partly filmed at St Paul’s in 2005. It featured monsters called Reapers breaking into the church to ruin a wedding. Additional scenes were shot in the streets around St Paul’s.
“I remember that there was a big dragon on the wall. Everyone got very excited about that one,” said Mr Spinola.
St Paul’s church was consecrated on 20 April, 1902 by the Bishop of Llandaff. The new plan incorporates the original wooden choir stalls, which were designed by the church’s architect, J Coates Carter, in 1914.
“The altar came from Ninian Park School which was a hospital in World War One, and over the years people donated for the special stained glass window that’s in the church,” explained Mr Spinola.
The original memorial glazed window installed in 1920 commemorates the servicemen and women of Grangetown who died in World War One. According to the church website, it is unique in that it depicts trench scenes as well as air and sea battles. In 2013 the local community raised money to refurbish the window, which will be preserved in the new plans.
The estimated £1 million needed to save the church proved too much for the small congregation to raise, explained Mr Spinola.
“It’s terribly sad. If I had won the Euromillions lottery I would have bought the church and given it to the vicar,” he said.
In a deal drawn up in 2016 the church agreed to allow the housing association to build the apartments and houses in return for refurbishments that guarantee the future of the church.
