Maxwell Fry and the ‘Anatomy of Mourning'

Coychurch Crematorium in Bridgend, Glamorgan opened in 1970 and enjoys a special status on two counts. First, coincidentally together with two other crematoria close in date and location, Margam (1969) ¹ and Llywdcoed, Aberdare, ² Coychurch is one of only a handful of British examples to warrant mention in Pevsner’s Buildings of Wales as being of architectural interest. Second, it was designed by a British modernist of international reputation, Edwin Maxwell Fry (1899–1987), distinguished by having worked with Walter Gropius in the 1930s and with Le Corbusier in the 1950s. Architectural historian John Newman described Coychurch as a ‘major work’ by Fry, Drew & Partners and one ‘strongly influenced by late Le Corbusier’. Furthermore it was in his view, ‘the most important recent display of stained glass in the country’ (Newman 2004: 334).