St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan
The church from the north, showing the doorway at the west end
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OS grid reference	SH 495 755
Location	Llanffinan, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	Church website
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	c. 620 Present building 1841
Dedication	St Ffinan
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	30 January 1968
Architect(s)	John Welch (1841)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Romanesque revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone with slate roof
Administration
Parish	Bro Cadwaladr
Deanery	Synod Ynys Mon
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Province	Province of Wales

St Ffinan's Church in Llanffinan is a small church in Anglesey, north Wales. It was built in 1841 in a style called Romanesque revival, which looks like old Roman buildings. People believe there has been a church in this area since the 7th century, possibly started by St Ffinan around the year 620.

When the church was rebuilt in 1841, some older parts were kept. These include a special bowl for baptisms from the 12th century and some stone plaques from the 1700s. The cross on the roof's eastern end also came from the older church.

Today, St Ffinan's Church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales. It is considered a very important building and is protected as a Grade II listed building. This means it's a special place that should be preserved. The church is located in the quiet countryside of central Anglesey, not far from the town of Llangefni. It's also on a walking path that leads to Plas Penmynydd, a historic home once lived in by Owen Tudor, who was the grandfather of King Henry VII and started the famous Tudor family.

History of the Church

St Ffinan's Church is found in the countryside in the middle of Anglesey, north Wales. It's close to a small village called Talwrn and about 2.5 kilometers from Llangefni, the main town in Anglesey. The church is at the end of a gravel path, off a country road. You can also reach it by a public walking path from Plas Penmynydd, which was the home of Owen Tudor.

The name of the area, Llanffinan, comes from the church itself. In Welsh, llan used to mean "enclosure" and later came to mean "church". So, Llanffinan means "Ffinan's church".

We don't know exactly when the very first church was built here. However, records show there was a church in this spot by 1254. Writers from the 1800s, like Angharad Llwyd and Samuel Lewis, said that St Ffinan, the saint the church is named after, started the first church here around the early 600s. Angharad Llwyd described the old church in 1833 as a "small neat edifice".

The church building you see today was designed by an architect named John Welch. It was finished in 1841, and the first service was held on July 6th of that year. John Welch also designed another church in Anglesey, St Nidan's Church, Llanidan, which was built a few years earlier.

Church Services and Community

St Ffinan's Church is still an active place of worship for the Church in Wales. It is part of a group of eight churches in a combined area called Bro Cadwaladr.

As of 2016, the main priest, called the vicar, is Emlyn Williams. He is helped by another priest, E. R. Roberts. Mr. Williams became the vicar in 2007. Before him, the church didn't have a vicar for 20 years, even though the Church in Wales tried many times to find someone.

Services are held at St Ffinan's on the first, second, third, and fourth Sundays of every month. These services are either Cymun Bendigaid (which means Holy Communion in Welsh) or Foreol Weddi (Morning Prayer). On the fifth Sunday of the month, a Holy Communion service is held at one of the other churches in the area. There are no services during the week.

Some important people have been connected to St Ffinan's Church in the past. John Jones, who was the Dean of Bangor Cathedral from 1689 to 1727, was also the rector of St Ffinan's during that time. Another person, Nicholas Owen, was a priest here from 1790 until he passed away in 1811.

Church Design and Features

The church building is small and shaped like a rectangle. It is made of stone with a slate roof. At the west end of the roof, there is a small tower for a bell, called a bellcote. Inside, the main part of the church (the nave) flows directly into the area near the altar (the chancel) without any dividing walls.

The church's style is Romanesque revival, which means it looks like buildings from the Romanesque period, known for their round arches and strong, simple shapes. There is a round-topped window in each of the three sections of the church. The chancel has a window made of three parts. The main entrance at the west end has small windows on either side and another window above it. A stone slab above the doorway has the year "1841" carved into it, showing when the church was rebuilt. Some of the windows have beautiful stained glass, put there to remember people who lived in the area.

In 1937, a survey looked at the church and found several items that were saved from the old building. The round font, which is a large bowl used for baptisms, is made of a type of stone called gritstone and dates back to the 12th century. It has a simple, woven pattern carved into it and sits on a newer base. There are also two stone plaques from the 1700s that remember people named Iohn Lloyd and Hugh. In the churchyard, there is one grave from the First World War, belonging to Private Evan Oswald Thomas, a soldier from Talwrn.

Why the Church is Special

St Ffinan's Church is recognized nationally as a special building. It is a Grade II listed building, which is the lowest of three levels of protection, but it still means the building is important and efforts should be made to keep it safe. It was given this status on January 30, 1968. It is listed because it is seen as "a good example of a simple Romanesque revival style." Cadw, the Welsh government group that looks after Wales's historic buildings, describes it as "a small rural church."

Samuel Lewis, writing about the new church, said it was a "plain structure" with strong supports that looked good and suited the church's exposed location. In 1846, a priest and historian named Harry Longueville Jones said the church, which he called a "modern erection of the Pseudo-Norman style," was in a "highly picturesque situation." He also noted that the cross on the east end of the roof came from the old church.

A guide to buildings in the region from 2009 described the 1841 rebuilding as "rectangular and harsh." However, a 2006 guide to Anglesey churches called St Ffinan's "a good example of the small rural church," located in a "well-maintained churchyard." It also pointed out that its style is "quite different to most Anglesey churches" in Anglesey.