St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn |
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St Iestyn's Church, with the south transept (left) and east window (right)
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| OS grid reference | SH 585 796 |
| Location | Llaniestyn, Anglesey |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | Unknown, but possibly 7th century; earliest part of building is from the 12th century |
| Founder(s) | St Iestyn |
| Dedication | St Iestyn |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 30 January 1968 |
| Style | Medieval |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 38 ft 3 in (11.7 m) |
| Width | 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m) |
| Other dimensions | South transept: 18 by 15 feet (5.5 by 4.6 m) |
| Materials | Rubble masonry |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Beaumaris with Llanddona and Llaniestyn |
| Deanery | Tindaethwy |
| Archdeaconry | Bangor |
| Diocese | Diocese of Bangor |
| Province | Province of Wales |
St Iestyn's Church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, Wales, is a very old church from the Middle Ages. People believe St Iestyn started a church here way back in the 600s! The oldest parts of the building you see today are from the 1100s. It was made bigger in the 1300s, and more changes happened over time.
Inside, you'll find a special stone font from the 1100s and a memorial stone from the 1300s dedicated to St Iestyn. This stone was made by the same artists who created the stone for St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo. The church is still used for worship today and is part of the Church in Wales. It's one of seven churches in a group called a "parish". St Iestyn's Church is also a Grade II* listed building. This means it's considered a "particularly important building" because it's so old and still has many of its original features, like the St Iestyn statue.
A Look at History and Location
St Iestyn's Church stands in a churchyard in a quiet, countryside area of eastern Anglesey. It's close to the village of Llanddona. The church actually gave its name to the area of Llaniestyn. The Welsh word llan first meant "enclosure" and then "church." The saint's name was added to it.
We don't know exactly when the church was first built. However, experts like Geraint Jones, who wrote a guide about Anglesey churches, think that St Iestyn started a religious community here in the 600s. St Iestyn was a nephew of another Anglesey saint, St Cybi. This church was the last one St Iestyn built.
A writer from the 1800s, Samuel Lewis, said that Llywelyn the Great (who lived from about 1172 to 1240) gave the church to a monastery he had built. We know there was a church here before 1254 because it's mentioned in a record from that year. The oldest parts of the building, like a old door that is now blocked up, are from the 1100s.
The church was made longer in the 1300s. The window at the east end is from the 1400s, and the south door is from around 1500. In the 1500s, a new section called the south transept was added. The church was repaired in 1865, when the roof was fixed and a new window was added. More repairs happened in 1954, which is when the old west door was found.
St Iestyn's Church is still used for church services today. It is part of the Church in Wales. It's one of seven churches in the area that work together. The church is part of the Diocese of Bangor. As of 2012, the main priest, called the rector, was Reverend Neil Fairlamb.
Church Design and Special Features
The church was built using rough rubble masonry (stones that aren't perfectly shaped). Some parts are covered in a smooth coating called render. The main part of the church, which includes the chancel (the area around the altar) and the nave (where people sit), is about 11.66 meters long and 4.72 meters wide. The south transept, an arm of the church, is about 5.5 meters by 4.5 meters. The walls inside are painted white. The roof is made of slate.
There isn't a clear wall or arch inside to show where the nave ends and the chancel begins. The nave is the oldest part of the building. At the west end of the roof, there's a small tower for a bell, called a bellcote. You enter the church through a porch on the south side. This porch has been rebuilt, but some of its parts are from the 1400s. Inside the porch, there's a round-topped door within a square frame, with the date 1764 on its hinge.
The east window in the chancel is shaped like a pointed arch and is from the 1400s. It has three sections of glass with special leaf-like shapes at the top. On the north side of the nave, there's a rectangular window from 1865. The south transept, added in the 1500s, has windows in its south and east walls. The south window has three sections of glass with three-leaf shapes at the top, set in an arch from the 1500s. The east window is small and rectangular, using some stone decorations from the 1300s. A large wooden beam crosses the wide opening between the transept and the rest of the church.
On the west wall of the south transept, there's a carved stone statue of St Iestyn from the late 1300s. He is shown wearing a hooded cloak with a brooch. He holds a staff in his right hand and a scroll with writing in his left. He has a beard and looks like a hermit (someone who lives alone for religious reasons) or a Franciscan friar (a type of monk). There are flowers carved in the background. A historian named Peter Lord thinks that the staff and brooch are shown so clearly because the sculptor might have copied real objects that people already respected.
The writing on the stone says: "Here lies Iestyn to whom Gwenllian ferch Madog and Gruffydd ap Gwilym offered this image for the health of their souls." This means Gwenllian and Gruffydd gave the statue to help their souls. The stone is made of grey sandstone from Flintshire, an area in north-east Wales. Gruffydd ap Gwilym, who paid for the statue, owned land in Flintshire and also at Llaniestyn. He probably paid for some of the church's rebuilding work too. Gwenllian was Gruffydd's aunt. This stone was made by the same artists who created similar memorials in the area, including one at Bangor Cathedral and another for St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo on Anglesey. The stone might have been part of a special place for the saint. It was in front of the altar in the 1700s, but was later moved to where it is now.
The round font, used for baptisms, is at the west end of the nave and is from the 1100s. The outside of the font has carvings in three rows. The bottom row has round-topped arches, the middle row has zigzag patterns, and the top row has crosses, checkerboard designs, and other decorations. Its design is similar to the font at St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan. On the north wall of the chancel, there's a stone tablet from the 1700s that lists gifts given to help the poor people of the area. The communion table and its rails are from the late 1600s.
Why This Church is Special
St Iestyn's Church is very important and protected by law. It's a Grade II* listed building, which is the second-highest level of protection. This means it's a "particularly important building with more than special interest." It received this status on January 30, 1968. It was listed because it's a "good Medieval rural church that still has many original and early features." Cadw, the Welsh government group that protects old buildings, especially points out the "fine 14th-century effigy memorial" of St Iestyn.
In 1847, a clergyman and historian named Harry Longueville Jones said that St Iestyn's was one of the "plainest" churches in Anglesey, but it had "two treasures." He called the font "remarkably curious" and said that there were "few monumental effigies in Wales of a higher antiquarian value" than the statue of St Iestyn. A guide to buildings in the region from 2009 describes the church's porch entrance as "barn-like" and calls the statue of St Iestyn "surprisingly accomplished," meaning it's very well made.
