St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd is a small medieval parish church
near the village of Dwyran
, in Anglesey
, north Wales. The building probably dates from the 15th century, with some alterations. It contains a 12th-century carved stone font and a 13th-century decorated coffin lid. The bell is inscribed with the year of its casting, 1582. The historian Henry Rowlands
was vicar of St Mary's in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maurice Wilks
, who invented the Land Rover
, is buried in the churchyard.
Although at one time during the 19th century St Mary's was too dilapidated to permit services to be held, repairs were carried out in the 19th century. The church is used for worship by the Church in Wales
, one of five in a combined parish. Services are held once per month between April and September. St Mary's is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church". It is also said to be "an important survival" because many of the older churches in Anglesey were extensively rebuilt or repaired during the 19th century, and the alterations at St Mary's were less extensive.
, in Anglesey
, north Wales. The church is about 5.5 miles (9 km) from the county town of Llangefni
, and just under 1 mile (1.5 km) from the neighbouring church of St Ceinwen's, Llangeinwen. Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd takes its name in part from the church: the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "‑fair" is a modified form of the patron saint's name (Mair being the Welsh for "Mary", here referring to St Mary, the mother of Jesus). Cwmwd means "commote
" (a type of Welsh land division), so the full name of the parish means "St Mary's Church in the commote".
The date of construction of the church is uncertain, but it is a medieval building
, probably from the 15th century. The 19th-century clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones
thought that the church was probably 16th-century in date, but might have been built using material from an older structure. The historian Antony Carr has suggested that Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd was the church dedicated to St Mary that was sacked by Normans in 1157. St Mary's was formerly one of the chapels of ease
to St Nidan's, Llanidan
, along with St Deiniol's, Llanddaniel Fab
and St Edwen's, Llanedwen
. St Nidan's and its chapels were owned by the Augustinian priory at Beddgelert
, Gwynedd; the date of transfer is uncertain, since not all the records have survived, but St Nidan's is mentioned as belonging to the priory in a charter of 1360. Carr has written that "we shall never know" how the "distant community" in Beddgelert came to possess the four Anglesey churches, but thought that it might be significant that the priory also controlled two churches on the mainland, on the other side of the Menai Strait.
During the 16th century, the windows of the nave
had mullion
s (stonework supporting the window structure) added, and the roof trusses date from later in the same century (or early in the following century). In her 1833 history of Anglesey, the antiquarian Angharad Llwyd
said that the church had been "for years in a state of such dilapidation as to preclude the performance of divine service", but she noted that it was being rebuilt at that time. However, compared to other churches in Anglesey, the 19th-century changes were not substantial. Repairs were undertaken in 1936 under the supervision of the architects Harold Hughes and William G. Williams.
St Mary's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
. A service of Holy Communion (in Welsh) is held on one Sunday afternoon per month between April and September; no services are held during the rest of the year. It is one of five churches in the combined benefice
(parishes combined under one priest) of Newborough with Llanidan with Llangeinwen and Llanfair-yn-y-Cymwd. St Mary's is within the deanery
of Tindaethwy and Menai, the archdeaconry of Bangor
and the Diocese of Bangor. As of November 2011, the priest in charge
of the group of parishes is E. Roberts.
People associated with the church include Henry Rowlands
, a clergyman and antiquarian. He was the incumbent priest of St Nidan's and its chapels of ease from 1696 until his death in 1723, and wrote a history of Anglesey, Mona Antiqua Restaurata. Maurice Wilks
, who invented the Land Rover
, is buried in the churchyard. He had a farm nearby in Newborough
and some prototype testing of the Land Rover was carried out in Anglesey.
, dressed with sandstone, and measures 47 by. The entrance is at the west end of the north wall. The roof, which is made from slate, has a bellcote with one bell at the west end. The inscription on the bell states that it was cast in 1582, and the bell is also marked with a fleur-de-lys and the thrice-repeated initials "AMN".
Inside, although there is no structural division between the nave
and the chancel
, there is a 19th-century wooden screen with wrought-iron gates between them, and a step up into the chancel. The sanctuary is marked with a further step, as is the base of the altar; both steps are decorated with encaustic tile
s. The internal woodwork of the roof, which has seven bays (or sections), is exposed.
The window in the centre north wall has two lights (sections of window separated by a mullion); there are two pairs of two-light windows in the south wall. The window at the east end had a pair of lights, topped by trefoil
s (a stonework pattern of three overlapping circles).
The roughly oval gritsone font at the west end of the nave, which is from the 12th century, has a zig-zag pattern, and three sides decorated with a cross. The base of the font, which is rectangular with rounded corners, has misshapen carved human heads at the corners and in the middle of one side, and a snake on two of the sides. A "P"-shaped sign on the east side of the font may have been added later. St Mary's has a coffin lid dating from the middle of the 13th century, displayed upside down on the north wall of the chancel. It is decorated with a carved cross and a foliage design. One 19th-century visitor noted another three old plain coffin lids on the church floor, with another in the churchyard near the east window. As well as an 18th-century slate plaque on the south wall of the nave, there are also various memorials from the 19th and 20th centuries.
(the Welsh Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that many old churches in Anglesey were rebuilt or restored during the 19th century, and that St Mary's "can be considered an important survival."
Writing in 1846, Harry Longueville Jones said that St Mary's was "one of the smallest buildings of its class in the island" and had "no feature of any architectural value." He noted the "elaborate" coffin lid, and said that the font (a "rude production of the twelfth century") was "one of the most remarkable in the collection of Anglesey monuments". The historian and clergyman Edmund Tyrrell Green
, writing a survey of Anglesey church architecture and contents in 1929, referred to the coffin lid as one of the county's "outstanding examples" of sepulchral memorials.
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes St Mary's as "a good example of a small unspoilt country church." It notes the "simple" rood screen and the "well-maintained" churchyard. A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region refers to the church as a "small unicameral church of undeterminable date" and says that the font, on its "strangely carved rectangular base", is "inconsistent" with the Romanesque fonts found elsewhere in Anglesey
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
near the village of Dwyran
Dwyran
Dwyran is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales....
, in 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...
, north Wales. The building probably dates from the 15th century, with some alterations. It contains a 12th-century carved stone font and a 13th-century decorated coffin lid. The bell is inscribed with the year of its casting, 1582. The historian Henry Rowlands
Henry Rowlands
Henry Rowlands was the author of Mona Antiqua Restaurata: An Archaeological Discourse on the Antiquities, Natural and Historical, of the Isle of Anglesey, the Antient Seat of the British Druids The Bridestones were among the sites described by Rowlands....
was vicar of St Mary's in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maurice Wilks
Maurice Wilks
Maurice Cary Ferdinand Wilks was an automotive and aeronautical engineer, and by the time of his death in 1963, was the chairman of the Rover Company, a British car manufacturer...
, who invented the Land Rover
Land Rover Series
The Land Rover Series I, II, and III are off-road vehicles produced by the British manufacturer Land Rover that were inspired by the US-built Willys Jeep...
, is buried in the churchyard.
Although at one time during the 19th century St Mary's was too dilapidated to permit services to be held, repairs were carried out in the 19th century. The church is used for worship by the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
, one of five in a combined parish. Services are held once per month between April and September. St Mary's is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church". It is also said to be "an important survival" because many of the older churches in Anglesey were extensively rebuilt or repaired during the 19th century, and the alterations at St Mary's were less extensive.
History and location
St Mary's Church is located in a churchyard about 100 yard from the road in the countryside near the village of DwyranDwyran
Dwyran is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales....
, in 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...
, north Wales. The church is about 5.5 miles (9 km) from the county town of Llangefni
Llangefni
Llangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llangefni was 4,662 people and it is the second largest settlement on the island...
, and just under 1 mile (1.5 km) from the neighbouring church of St Ceinwen's, Llangeinwen. Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd takes its name in part from the church: the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "‑fair" is a modified form of the patron saint's name (Mair being the Welsh for "Mary", here referring to St Mary, the mother of Jesus). Cwmwd means "commote
Commote
A commote , sometimes spelt in older documents as cymwd, was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix cym- and the noun bod...
" (a type of Welsh land division), so the full name of the parish means "St Mary's Church in the commote".
The date of construction of the church is uncertain, but it is a medieval building
Medieval architecture
Medieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture common in Medieval Europe.-Characteristics:-Religious architecture:...
, probably from the 15th century. The 19th-century clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones
Harry Longueville Jones
-Life:Jones was the son of Edward Jones by Charlotte Elizabeth Stephens, was born in Piccadilly, London, in 1806. His father was second son of Captain Thomas Jones of Wrexham, who adopted the additional name of Longueville on succeeding to a portion of the Longueville estates in Shropshire. Jones...
thought that the church was probably 16th-century in date, but might have been built using material from an older structure. The historian Antony Carr has suggested that Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd was the church dedicated to St Mary that was sacked by Normans in 1157. St Mary's was formerly one of the chapels of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
to St Nidan's, Llanidan
Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan
The Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan is a medieval church, closed and partly in ruins, in the community of Llanidan, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church on this site, close to the Menai Strait, was established in the 7th century by St Nidan, the confessor of the monastery at Penmon,...
, along with St Deiniol's, Llanddaniel Fab
St Deiniol's Church, Llanddaniel Fab
St Deiniol's Church, Llanddaniel Fab, is a small 19th-century parish church in the centre of Llanddaniel Fab, a village in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church in this location is said to have been established by St Deiniol Fab in 616. He was the son of St Deiniol, the first Bishop of Bangor...
and St Edwen's, Llanedwen
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen is a 19th-century parish church near the Menai Strait, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church was founded here by St Edwen in 640, but the present structure dates from 1856 and was designed by Henry Kennedy, the architect of the Diocese of Bangor...
. St Nidan's and its chapels were owned by the Augustinian priory at Beddgelert
Beddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
, Gwynedd; the date of transfer is uncertain, since not all the records have survived, but St Nidan's is mentioned as belonging to the priory in a charter of 1360. Carr has written that "we shall never know" how the "distant community" in Beddgelert came to possess the four Anglesey churches, but thought that it might be significant that the priory also controlled two churches on the mainland, on the other side of the Menai Strait.
During the 16th century, the windows of the 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...
had mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
s (stonework supporting the window structure) added, and the roof trusses date from later in the same century (or early in the following century). In her 1833 history of Anglesey, the antiquarian Angharad Llwyd
Angharad Llwyd
Angharad Llwyd was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.She was born at Caerwys in Flintshire, the daughter of Rev. John Lloyd, himself a noted antiquary. Her essay entitled Catalogue of Welsh Manuscripts, etc. in North Wales won a prize at the Welshpool...
said that the church had been "for years in a state of such dilapidation as to preclude the performance of divine service", but she noted that it was being rebuilt at that time. However, compared to other churches in Anglesey, the 19th-century changes were not substantial. Repairs were undertaken in 1936 under the supervision of the architects Harold Hughes and William G. Williams.
St Mary's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
. A service of Holy Communion (in Welsh) is held on one Sunday afternoon per month between April and September; no services are held during the rest of the year. It is one of five churches in the combined benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
(parishes combined under one priest) of Newborough with Llanidan with Llangeinwen and Llanfair-yn-y-Cymwd. St Mary's is within the deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of Tindaethwy and Menai, the archdeaconry of Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
and the Diocese of Bangor. As of November 2011, the priest in charge
Priest in charge
A priest in charge or priest-in-charge is a priest in charge of a parish who does not receive the temporalities of the parish. He or she is not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, simply holds a licence rather than freehold and is not appointed by advowson.The appointment of priests in...
of the group of parishes is E. Roberts.
People associated with the church include Henry Rowlands
Henry Rowlands
Henry Rowlands was the author of Mona Antiqua Restaurata: An Archaeological Discourse on the Antiquities, Natural and Historical, of the Isle of Anglesey, the Antient Seat of the British Druids The Bridestones were among the sites described by Rowlands....
, a clergyman and antiquarian. He was the incumbent priest of St Nidan's and its chapels of ease from 1696 until his death in 1723, and wrote a history of Anglesey, Mona Antiqua Restaurata. Maurice Wilks
Maurice Wilks
Maurice Cary Ferdinand Wilks was an automotive and aeronautical engineer, and by the time of his death in 1963, was the chairman of the Rover Company, a British car manufacturer...
, who invented the Land Rover
Land Rover Series
The Land Rover Series I, II, and III are off-road vehicles produced by the British manufacturer Land Rover that were inspired by the US-built Willys Jeep...
, is buried in the churchyard. He had a farm nearby in Newborough
Newborough, Anglesey
Newborough is a village in the south-western corner of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales; it is in the community of Rhosyr, which has a population of 2,169.-History:Newborough was a commotal centre of medieval Anglesey...
and some prototype testing of the Land Rover was carried out in Anglesey.
Architecture and fittings
The church is built from rubble masonryRubble masonry
Rubble masonry is rough, unhewn building stone set in mortar, but not laid in regular courses. It may appear as the outer surface of a wall or may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or cut stone....
, dressed with sandstone, and measures 47 by. The entrance is at the west end of the north wall. The roof, which is made from slate, has a bellcote with one bell at the west end. The inscription on the bell states that it was cast in 1582, and the bell is also marked with a fleur-de-lys and the thrice-repeated initials "AMN".
Inside, although there is no structural division between the 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 the 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...
, there is a 19th-century wooden screen with wrought-iron gates between them, and a step up into the chancel. The sanctuary is marked with a further step, as is the base of the altar; both steps are decorated with encaustic tile
Encaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern is inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as...
s. The internal woodwork of the roof, which has seven bays (or sections), is exposed.
The window in the centre north wall has two lights (sections of window separated by a mullion); there are two pairs of two-light windows in the south wall. The window at the east end had a pair of lights, topped by trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
s (a stonework pattern of three overlapping circles).
The roughly oval gritsone font at the west end of the nave, which is from the 12th century, has a zig-zag pattern, and three sides decorated with a cross. The base of the font, which is rectangular with rounded corners, has misshapen carved human heads at the corners and in the middle of one side, and a snake on two of the sides. A "P"-shaped sign on the east side of the font may have been added later. St Mary's has a coffin lid dating from the middle of the 13th century, displayed upside down on the north wall of the chancel. It is decorated with a carved cross and a foliage design. One 19th-century visitor noted another three old plain coffin lids on the church floor, with another in the churchyard near the east window. As well as an 18th-century slate plaque on the south wall of the nave, there are also various memorials from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Assessment
The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II* listed building – the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". It was given this status on 30 January 1968, and has been listed because it is regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church." CadwCadw
-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...
(the Welsh Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that many old churches in Anglesey were rebuilt or restored during the 19th century, and that St Mary's "can be considered an important survival."
Writing in 1846, Harry Longueville Jones said that St Mary's was "one of the smallest buildings of its class in the island" and had "no feature of any architectural value." He noted the "elaborate" coffin lid, and said that the font (a "rude production of the twelfth century") was "one of the most remarkable in the collection of Anglesey monuments". The historian and clergyman Edmund Tyrrell Green
Edmund Tyrrell Green
Edmund Tyrell Green was a Church of England academic, curate and author. He graduated from St. John's College, Oxford with a...
, writing a survey of Anglesey church architecture and contents in 1929, referred to the coffin lid as one of the county's "outstanding examples" of sepulchral memorials.
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes St Mary's as "a good example of a small unspoilt country church." It notes the "simple" rood screen and the "well-maintained" churchyard. A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region refers to the church as a "small unicameral church of undeterminable date" and says that the font, on its "strangely carved rectangular base", is "inconsistent" with the Romanesque fonts found elsewhere in Anglesey