Capel Lligwy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Capel Lligwy |
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The ruined chapel, showing the doorway and the 16th-century side chapel (to the right)
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| OS grid reference | SH 499 863 |
| Location | Rhos Lligwy, Anglesey |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| History | |
| Status | Chapel of ease |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Dedication | Unknown |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Ruined |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 2 September 1952 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Medieval |
| Closed | 18th century |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Rubble masonry |
Capel Lligwy is an old, ruined chapel in Anglesey, north Wales. It is also known as Hen Gapel Lligwy, which means "Old Lligwy Chapel" in Welsh. This special building was first built in the early 1100s.
We don't know exactly why it was built. It might have been a memorial chapel or a private chapel for a nearby royal family. It could also have been a chapel of ease. This means it helped a bigger church by serving people who lived far away.
The chapel was used until the early 1700s. After that, it slowly fell apart. Today, only the stone walls remain. There is no roof, but you can still see some old plaster on the inside walls.
One cool part of the chapel is a side room from the 1500s. Underneath this room is a secret vault. This vault was used as a burial place for a local family. Capel Lligwy is a Grade II listed building. This means it is a very important historical site that must be protected.
Contents
The Story of Capel Lligwy
The oldest parts of Capel Lligwy were built in the early 1100s. This was a time when many churches on Anglesey were first built from stone. Before this, Viking raids made it hard to build strong structures.
No one knows who the chapel was built for or what saint it honored. Some historians think it was a memorial chapel. Others believe it was linked to a royal court nearby. It might also have served a growing population in the large parish of Penrhos Lligwy.
Even though it helped many people, it stayed a chapel of ease. It never became a main parish church.
Changes Over Time
The chapel's walls were partly rebuilt in the 1300s. The upper parts of the walls you see today are from this time. In the 1500s, a new chapel was added to the south side.
Under this south chapel is a vault. A local family called the Pierce Lloyds used this vault for burials.
For a while, Capel Lligwy was a private chapel for a nearby house. This house was owned by the Lloyd family. Later, in the 1700s, the chapel was no longer used. It started to fall into ruin. Today, the walls stand tall, but the roof is gone.
Capel Lligwy is in the countryside of Anglesey. It's near a village called Llanallgo. The main church of St Gallgo is about 1.25 kilometers away. You can still see parts of the old churchyard wall. It shows the chapel was once inside a round area. This was common for very old churches.
Cadw looks after Capel Lligwy. Cadw is the Welsh government group that cares for old buildings. The chapel is open for people to visit.
What the Chapel Looks Like
Capel Lligwy is built from rubble masonry. This means it's made of rough, unsquared stones. About 1.5 meters up the walls, you can see a change in the stone style. Smaller stones fill gaps between bigger ones. This shows where the 1300s rebuilding began.
The main entrance is on the south side. It has a simple arch above it and is from the 1100s. At the west end, there's a stone bellcote. This is a small structure that once held a bell.
Inside, there's no wall separating the nave (where people sat) from the chancel (where the altar was). There are no windows on the north side. But you can see where a large window used to be on the east side. There are also remains of a window on the south wall.
The vault under the south chapel is about 2.5 square meters. You reach it by stone steps inside the south chapel. Big limestone slabs form the roof of the vault and the floor of the chapel above. There's a stone in the nave that might have been part of a churchyard cross.
Why Capel Lligwy is Important
Capel Lligwy is a Grade II listed building. This means it's a special building that needs to be protected. It got this status in 1952. It's important because it's mostly an 1100s building. It still has some original parts from that early time.
Even though it's a ruin, it's very valuable. Cadw, the group that lists Welsh buildings, also points out the "unusual 16th-century vaulted south chapel."
An old historian named Angharad Llwyd wrote about the chapel in the 1800s. She said its building style was "the rudest kind," showing how old it was. She told a story about a fox hiding in the ruins. When people dug it out, they found the vault. Inside were human skeletons that turned to dust when exposed to air. She added that more digging found "a large mass of human bones."
A book from 1990 about old churches in Wales talks about Capel Lligwy. It calls the chapel a "medieval gesture of Christian power." It also notes that the chapel is now "just another ruined relic of a former age." The authors describe it as a "simple, square building." They say the stone slabs over the vault look like the ancient burial chambers nearby.
See also
- Din Lligwy, a nearby Iron Age site
- Lligwy Burial Chamber, a nearby Neolithic burial chamber
