St Twrog's Church, Maentwrog
Encyclopedia
Maentwrog
Maentwrog is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the village...
in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog
Vale of Ffestiniog
The Vale of Ffestiniog is a valley in the Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, North Wales. It stretches from Blaenau Ffestiniog in the east and runs in a westerly direction towards Tremadog Bay, terminating near Porthmadog...
, within the Snowdonia National Park. It is in 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 Ardudwy
Ardudwy
Ardudwy is an area of Gwynedd in north-west Wales, lying between Tremadog Bay and the Rhinogydd. Administratively, under the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, it was first a division of the sub kingdom of Dunoding and later a cantref in its own right...
.
A church was founded on the current site in the 6th century by Saint Twrog
Saint Twrog
Saint Twrog was a 6th century Welsh saint who founded the church at Maentwrog. It is believed that Twrog was the son of Ithel Hael o Lydaw of Brittany...
. It is believed that he was the son of Ithel Hael o Lydaw of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. He was also the brother of Saint Tanwg of Llandanwg
Llandanwg
Llandanwg is a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales.The village of Llandanwg is situated to the west of the coastal road between Llanbedr and Harlech, close to the village of Llanfair. Originally it was a small collection of farms to the north of the river Artro, close to where it enters...
, Saint Tegai
Saint Tegai
Saint Tegai is the patron saint and founder of Llandygai in the Welsh county of Gwynedd.According to Enwogion Cymru, Tegai was a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century He was one of the sons of Ithel Hael, and with his brother Tecwyn accompanied Saint Cadfan from Brittany to Wales...
of Llandygai and Saint Baglan of Llanfaglan
Llanfaglan
Llanfaglan is a parish in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lay in the medieval cwmwd of Is Gwyrfai.Llanfaglan is located 2 miles south-west of Caernarfon on the shore of the Menai Strait...
and Baglan .
There are two other dedications to Saint Twrog at Bodwrog 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...
and at Llandwrog
Llandwrog
Llandwrog is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport...
. When Twrog first arrived in the village, the valley would have been very marshy, which provided him with the wattle
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
that he would have needed to build his cell
Prison cell
A prison cell or holding cell or lock-up is a small room in a prison, or police station where a prisoner is held.Prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. Solid doors...
. Out the church near to the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
door is a large stone known as Maen Twrog (maen being the Welsh for stone). Twrog is reputed to have thrown the stone from the top of Moelwyn crushing a pagan altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in the valley below. It is said that his handprints can still be seen in the stone. The parish of Maentwrog gets its name from this stone
The yew
Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...
trees in the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
are said to be over 1300 years old. They were a feature of the ancient pagan burial places, their evergreen leaves being a symbol of immortality; however, 1300 years ago the site would have been Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
not pagan. Another use of the yew trees was for military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
purposes as the yew timber was excellent for making bows
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
, but because of the poisonous nature of the yew trees they were not popular among the people and were therefore grown in relative safety in places such as churchyards.
The church that was on the site before 1896 was dedicated to Saint Mary, which has a connection to the Cistercian monks who were very numerous in the Maentwrog valley at one time. In the village there is also Saint Mary’s well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
and across the valley is Llyn Mair
Llyn Mair
Llyn Mair is a artificial lake located at in North Wales. It lies in the area of Tan-y-Bwlch, a little above Plas Tan-y-Bwlch, and is in the catchment area of the River Dwyryd...
(Saint Mary’s Lake). In 1504, the church was described as a chapelry attached to the extensive parish of Ffestiniog
Ffestiniog
Ffestiniog is a community in Gwynedd in Wales, containing several villages, in particular the settlements of Llan Ffestiniog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. It has a population of 4,830....
. During the years 1572 to 1624, the notable Edmwnd Prys was rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the church. He translated the metrical psalms into Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, and the present west window commemorates his work.
The church was rebuilt in 1814 on the old foundations and was described as a neat stone edifice and was rectangular with a square embattled tower
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
. There was no 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...
at that time, the altar being placed in front of the present altar rails, with the door and porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
being on the north side. On the west wall of the church there were three small windows. In 1896 a new chancel was built along with a baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
and new stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows were installed consisting of the east and west windows and the small “Good Shepherd” window. The vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
window “Son of Consolation” is in memory of William Edward Oakeley, benefactor of the parish, with whose help the church was restored in 1896, his wife Mary Oakeley executed the beautiful carvings
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
. During this alteration, the bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
was replaced by an eight tubular bells and the present organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
was installed at the same time. The old bell was installed in the village school tower. The architect responsible for the alteration work to the church in 1896 was John Douglas who was also responsible for the design of the lych gate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
.
There are some memorials on the north side of the church and on both sides of the altar which were transferred from the 1814 church and there is a carving of Saint Twrog on the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
. A fragment of Edmwnd Prys pulpit also remains. The parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
goes back to 1695. Outside in the graveyard are three Celtic Cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
style memorials to members of the Oakeley family. There is also a very old attractive church entrance gate which opens on the main road in Maentwrog.
See also
- List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas
- St Twrog's Church, BodwrogSt Twrog's Church, BodwrogSt Twrog's Church, Bodwrog is a small rural church, in Anglesey, north Wales. Built in the late 15th century in a medieval style, some alterations have been made but much of the original structure still remains. It has two 15th-century doorways and some 15th-century windows...