Old Church of St Afran, St Ieuan and St Sannan, Llantrisant
Encyclopedia
The Old Church of St Afran, St Ieuan and St Sannan, Llantrisant, is a redundant church
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...

 in the settlement of Llantrisant
Llantrisant, Anglesey
Llantrisant is a settlement in Anglesey, Wales.- External links :*...

, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...

, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...

 as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches is a registered charity active in England and Wales. It campaigns for and rescues redundant historic churches threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. To that end, as of August 2010, it owns 43 former churches or chapels, 23 of which...

. It is set in an isolated position off a country road and is adjacent to a farmstead.

History

The church was built probably in the late 14th century, and the south chapel was added in the 17th century. In 1899 a new church was built nearer the centre of the settlement, some 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) to the east, and it became redundant. Its fabric deteriorated, by 1937 it was in a state of disrepair, and by 1970 it was in ruins and without a roof. It was restored in 1976–77. It was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...

 with the charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

 the Friends of Friendless Churches in 1978, who hold a 999-year lease
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....

 with effect from 1 November 1978, and was one of the first of the Welsh churches to be acquired by the charity.

Exterior

It is built in stone and has a modern slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 roof. Its plan is simple, with a continuous nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

, and a chapel extending to the south. A stone gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...

d bellcote stands on the west end. In the south wall of the nave is a round-headed doorway. To the left is a single rectangular window, and to the right a double window, over which is a large rough stone. There is a rectangular doorway in the north wall with a single square window to its left. The east window consists of a pair of trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...

ed lights with a small shield-shaped window between. In the south chapel there are double square-headed windows in the east and south walls, and a single rectangular window in the west wall.

Interior

Internally the church is paved with stone slabs. Most of the fittings and furniture date probably from the 18th century, including the box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...

s and benches. The altar is simple, consisting of a slate slab supported on piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...

; a simple cross is set into the wall behind it. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 dates from the 12th century and consists of a deep circular bowl on a cylindrical column standing on a stepped rough base. The font is not original to the church, but was moved from the church at Grove
Grove, Buckinghamshire
Grove is a tiny village in the parish of Slapton, Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Bedfordshire, just to the north of Mentmore. It is the size of some hamlets, but it is distinct as a village because it had its own parish church. The place name is fairly self explanatory, as it...

, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

when it was converted into a house in the 1970s. There are memorials on the walls, and a gravestone set on a chest on the floor of the nave.

External links

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