St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd
The west end of the church
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OS grid reference	SH 4470 6676
Location	near Dwyran, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	Parish website
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	Probably 15th century
Dedication	St Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	30 January 1968
Architect(s)	Harold Hughes and William G. Williams (1936 repairs)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Medieval
Specifications
Length	47 ft (14.3 m)
Width	14 ft (4.3 m)
Materials	Rubble masonry
Administration
Parish	Newborough with Llanidan with Llangeinwen and Llanfair-yn-y-Cymwd
Deanery	Tindaethwy and Menai
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Province	Province of Wales

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd is a small, old church in Anglesey, north Wales. It's located near the village of Dwyran. This church was probably built in the 1400s, during the Middle Ages.

Even though it's very old, the church is still used today by the Church in Wales. Services are held there once a month from April to September. St Mary's is special because it has a Grade II* listed building status. This means it's a very important building with a lot of history. It's a great example of a medieval church that hasn't changed much over time.

History of St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church is in the countryside, about 100 yards from the main road. It's about 5.5 miles from Llangefni, the main town in Anglesey. The church's name, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd, comes from Welsh words. "Llan" means "church," and "Fair" is a form of "Mary." "Cwmwd" means a type of old Welsh land division. So, the name means "St Mary's Church in the commote."

Historians believe the church was built in the 15th century (the 1400s). Some parts might even be from an older building. One historian, Antony Carr, thinks this church might be the one attacked by Normans in 1157.

St Mary's used to be a "chapel of ease" for a bigger church called St Nidan's. This meant it was a smaller church that helped people worship if they couldn't get to the main church. St Nidan's and its chapels were owned by a group of monks called Augustinians from a priory (a type of monastery) in Beddgelert.

Over the years, the church has had some changes. In the 1500s, new stone frames were added to the windows. The roof was also updated around the same time. In 1833, a writer named Angharad Llwyd said the church was in bad shape and couldn't hold services. But it was rebuilt then. More repairs happened in 1936, led by architects Harold Hughes and William G. Williams.

The church is still an active place of worship. It's part of a group of five churches in the area.

Famous People Connected to the Church

• Henry Rowlands: He was a priest at St Mary's and other nearby churches from 1696 until 1723. He was also a historian who wrote a book about Anglesey called Mona Antiqua Restaurata.
• Maurice Wilks: He was the person who invented the famous Land Rover. He lived on a farm nearby in Newborough. Some of the first Land Rovers were even tested in Anglesey. Maurice Wilks is buried in the churchyard at St Mary's.

What Does St Mary's Church Look Like?

The church is built from rough stone, with smoother sandstone used for details. It measures about 47 feet long and 14 feet wide. You enter the church through a door on the north side. The roof is made of slate. At the west end of the church, there's a small bell tower with one bell. The bell has the year 1582 carved on it.

Inside, the church has two main parts: the nave (where the people sit) and the chancel (where the altar is). There isn't a wall between them, but there's a wooden screen from the 1800s with metal gates. There are steps leading up to the chancel and the altar. These steps are decorated with colorful tiles. You can see the wooden beams of the roof inside.

The church has several windows. There's one in the middle of the north wall with two sections. The south wall has two pairs of windows, each with two sections. The window at the east end has two sections with a three-leaf pattern at the top.

Special Features Inside

• The Font: At the west end of the church, there's a font (a basin for baptisms) made of rough stone. It's very old, from the 12th century (the 1100s). It has a zig-zag pattern and three crosses carved into it. The base of the font has carved human heads and a snake.
• The Coffin Lid: On the north wall of the chancel, there's a coffin lid from the 13th century (the 1200s). It's displayed upside down and has a carved cross and leaf designs.
• Memorials: You can also find old stone plaques from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s inside the church. These are memorials to people who lived in the area.

Why St Mary's Church is Important

St Mary's Church is a Grade II* listed building. This is a very high level of protection in the UK. It means the building is "particularly important" and has special historical interest. It got this status in 1968. It's considered a great example of a simple, old church from the late Middle Ages that hasn't been changed too much.

Many old churches in Anglesey were rebuilt or heavily repaired in the 1800s. But St Mary's kept most of its original look. This makes it a very important building that shows us what churches were like long ago.

In 1846, a writer named Harry Longueville Jones said St Mary's was one of the smallest churches on the island. He thought the font was "remarkable" and the coffin lid was "elaborate." Another historian, Edmund Tyrrell Green, called the coffin lid one of the best examples of old memorials in Anglesey.

A guide from 2006 describes St Mary's as a "good example of a small unspoilt country church." It also mentions the simple screen inside and the well-kept churchyard.

Images for kids

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  Coffin lid on N wall of chancel. Drawn by Harry Longueville Jones, Archaeologia Cambrensis, 1846 pg 394

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  The gravestone of Maurice Wilks at the east end of the church