St Caian's Church, Tregaian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Caian's Church, Tregaian |
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The 14th-century window at the east end of the church
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| OS grid reference | SH 451 797 |
| Location | Tregaian, Anglesey |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Dedication | St Caian |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 12 May 1970 |
| Style | Medieval |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 40 ft 6 in (12.3 m) |
| Width | 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) |
| Materials | Rubble masonry |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Llangefni with Tregaean with Llanddyfnan (Talwrn) |
| Deanery | Malltraeth |
| Archdeaconry | Bangor |
| Diocese | Diocese of Bangor |
| Province | Province of Wales |
St Caian's Church, Tregaian (also called St Caean's Church, Tregaean) is a small, old church in Anglesey, north Wales. It was built in the 1300s. It's named after St Caian, a Christian saint from the 400s or 500s. We don't know much about him.
The church has a special window from the late 1300s and a doorway from the late 1400s. In the churchyard, you can find the grave of William ap Howel. He died in 1581 when he was 105 years old! He had over 40 children and more than 300 living family members when he passed away.
St Caian's Church is still used for worship today by the Church in Wales. It is one of three churches in its local area. The building is considered very important and is a Grade II* listed building. This means it's a "particularly important building of more than special interest." People think it's an "excellent late Medieval rural church."
Contents
Discovering St Caian's Church
The exact year the first Christian building was built here is not known. The church is named after St Caian, a Christian saint from the 5th or 6th century. Not much is known about his life.
Who Was St Caian?
One old story says that St Caian's father was St Caw. St Caw was a king in northern Britain who lost his land. He found safety in Anglesey, where the ruler Maelgwn Gwynedd gave him land. This land was in the north-east of the island, in an area called Twrcelyn.
If Caian was St Caw's son, then his sisters included St Cwyllog. She started the nearby church of St Cwyllog, Llangwyllog in the 6th century. Other old writings say that Caian lived in the 5th century. They also say he was a son or grandson of Brychan, a king from south Wales.
Where is Tregaian?
Caian's name is part of the village name, Tregaian, where the church is located. The Welsh word tref means "settlement." So, Tregaian means "Caian's settlement."
Tregaian is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Llangefni. Llangefni is the main town in Anglesey. The church is in the countryside, next to a small road.
Church History and Use
The current church building is from the medieval period, specifically the late 1300s. The east window dates from this time. The doorway was added later, in the late 1400s. The roof was built around the late 1500s or early 1600s. The windows in the main part of the church (the nave) and the pulpit's wooden panels are from the 1600s.
The church is still actively used for worship by the Church in Wales. It is one of three churches in the combined area of Llangefni with Tregaean with Llanddyfnan (Talwrn). It belongs to the Malltraeth deanery, the Bangor archdeaconry, and the Diocese of Bangor. As of 2013, the main priest for the area was Reverend J Ashley-Roberts.
Church Design and Features
The church is built from rubble masonry, which means it uses rough, uneven stones. The roof is made of slate and has a stone bellcote (a small structure holding a bell) at the west end.
Inside the Church
You enter the church through a doorway on the south side. This doorway is from the late 1400s and has fancy decorations around it. There isn't a wall separating the nave (where people sit) from the chancel (where the altar is). Instead, there's just one step up into the chancel.
The church is about 40 feet 6 inches (12.34 m) long and 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) wide. The east window, from the late 1300s, is shaped like a pointed arch with decorative edges. It has stained glass from 1916. This glass shows Christ giving a crown to a knight, with words like "Well done thou good and faithful servant."
There are two pairs of square-shaped windows on the south wall, which are from the 1600s. On the north side, there used to be another entrance, but it was blocked up in the late 1800s. There's also one pair of square-shaped windows from the 1600s on this side. A small window at the west end of the church is from the 1600s or 1700s. You can see the wooden beams of the roof from inside the church. Behind the altar is a decorated wooden screen called a reredos, which is from the 1800s.
Special Items and Graves
The church has a round font (a basin for baptisms) from the 1100s. It's decorated with a zigzag pattern. The church bell is dated 1717, and the wooden pews (benches) are from the 1800s.
On the walls, you'll find memorial tablets from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. Some of these remember the Lloyd family, who lived in a nearby house called Plas Tregaian. In 1937, a survey noted a simple silver cup from 1714–15.
The churchyard holds the grave of William ap Howel, who died in 1581 at the age of 105. He was married three times and had 42 or 43 children. More than 300 of his family members attended his funeral! His children ranged in age from 8 to 89 when he died.
Why St Caian's Church is Important
St Caian's Church is officially recognized and protected from changes because it's a Grade II* listed building. This is the second-highest of three levels of protection. It means the building is "particularly important" and has "more than special interest."
It received this status on May 12, 1970. It was listed because it is considered "an excellent late Medieval rural church." Cadw, the Welsh government body that protects old buildings, says the church "retains a strong simple character." This is because it still has many of its original features and its first layout, with the nave and chancel not separated by a wall.
What Experts Say
In the 1800s, a historian named Angharad Llwyd called the church "a small but neat edifice" (a small but tidy building). She also noted the "handsome" (beautiful) east window. Another writer from the 1800s, Samuel Lewis, said the church was "simple and primitive in its construction."
In 1847, a clergyman and historian named Harry Longueville Jones wrote about the font. He found it "remarkable" because it didn't have a drain and was "hardly large enough for immersion" (meaning it was too small for full-body baptisms). He also thought the east window had a "rather singular" (unusual) design.
A guide to Anglesey churches from 2006 points out the "unusually wide" east window. A 2009 guide to buildings in the area says that St Caian's Church "gives an impression of what the Anglesey parish churches were like before so many were reassembled in the 19th century." This is partly because its walls lean, the guide adds. The east window has also been compared to the one at St Ceidio's Church, Rhodogeidio, which is also on Anglesey.
