St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn
The west end of St Mary's Church, showing the entrance door
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OS grid reference	SH 366 728
Location	Tal-y-llyn, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
History
Status	Chapel of ease
Founded	Unknown; building possibly 12th century
Dedication	St Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant church in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches; occasional summer services
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	5 April 1971
Architectural type	Church
Style	Medieval
Specifications
Length	Nave: 25 ft (7.6 m) Chancel: 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m)
Width	Nave: 13 ft (4.0 m) Chancel: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Other dimensions	South chapel: 9 by 8 ft (2.7 by 2.4 m)
Materials	Rubble masonry with boulder quoins

St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn is an old church in Anglesey, north Wales. It's near a place called Aberffraw. This church was built a very long time ago, possibly in the 12th century. It used to be a small church, or chapel of ease, for a bigger local church. It served a village called Tal-y-llyn, but that village doesn't exist anymore.

In the early 1990s, the church was no longer used regularly. Now, a group called the Friends of Friendless Churches takes care of it. They look after old churches that are not used much anymore. Even though it's old, services are still held there once a month during the summer. St Mary's Church is very special because it's a Grade I listed building. This means it's considered a building of "exceptional" national importance. It's rare to find a medieval church that still looks so much like it did hundreds of years ago.

Discovering St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church is in a quiet, countryside part of Anglesey. It's about 4.25 kilometers (2.6 miles) northeast of Aberffraw. The church sits on a small hill, and the wall around its churchyard follows the shape of this hill. There are no gravestones in the churchyard.

This church was one of five smaller churches that helped the main local church, St Peulan's, Llanbeulan. St Peulan's Church is now also closed. The village that St Mary's Church once served, Tal-y-llyn, has disappeared over time. Long ago, before a big sickness called the Black Death, there were 22 houses in this village.

A Look at the Church's History

We don't know exactly when St Mary's Church was first built. The oldest part of the church, called the nave (the main part where people sit), might be from the 12th century. Later, in the late 1500s, the chancel (the part near the altar) was rebuilt. In the 1600s, a small chapel was added to the south side of the building.

The church was used for services until the early 1990s. Around 1992, it became a redundant church, meaning it was no longer needed for daily worship. In 1999, the Friends of Friendless Churches took over its care. They have a very long lease, which means they will look after the church for a very long time. Today, services are held at the church one Sunday afternoon each month from May to October.

Inside St Mary's Church

The church is built from rough stones, called rubble masonry. Large, rounded stones, called quoins, are used at the corners. The floor inside is made of flat stones, and the roof has modern slate tiles.

The main part of the church, the nave, is about 7.6 meters (25 feet) long and 4 meters (13 feet) wide. The chancel is about 5 meters (16 feet 6 inches) long and 3.4 meters (11 feet) wide. The small chapel on the south side is about 2.7 meters (9 feet) by 2.4 meters (8 feet).

Between the nave and the chancel, there's a pointed archway. Some parts of this arch might be from the 13th century, but it was likely rebuilt in the 1500s. The side chapel has rectangular windows from the 1600s. You can see the wooden roof beams, called trusses, inside the church. They are from the 15th and 17th centuries.

There are two rectangular windows on the north side of the nave, added in the 1900s. The east window in the chancel has three rounded glass sections in a square frame. This window is from the late 1500s. The windows still have their clear, leaded glass, but they are now covered with boards. There are no windows on the south side because it's the most open to the weather.

At the west end of the church, on the roof, there's an empty space where a bell used to be. The main entrance is also at the west end. It has a rounded archway set deep into the thick wall, possibly from the 14th century.

The original 12th-century font (a basin used for baptisms) was moved to another church nearby. St Mary's now has a different font from the 15th century. It's made of a type of stone called gritstone and has eight sides. The communion rails, where people kneel for communion, are from 1764 and are quite simple. The pulpit, where the preacher stands, is also from the 1700s.

There are stone benches along the north and south walls of the nave. Many of the old wooden pews, which were from the 1700s, were damaged or stolen after the church was no longer used regularly. New pews were made by a local craftsman when the Friends of Friendless Churches restored the building in 1999 and 2000.

Why St Mary's Church is Important

St Mary's Church is very important and protected by law. It's a Grade I listed building, which is the highest level of protection. This means it's considered to be of "exceptional" national importance. Less than 2% of all listed buildings in Wales have this high status.

It was given this special status in 1971. The reason is that it's a "very rare example of a virtually unrestored Medieval church of simple, rustic character." This means it still looks very much like it did in the Middle Ages, with its simple, country style. The Welsh government body that protects old buildings, Cadw, also noted that it kept a full set of its 18th-century fittings, like the simple benches. Even though some pews were damaged later, the church still holds great historical value.

One modern guide says that the church shows the unique, local style of Anglesey's country buildings, which is rare to see in other churches. However, a writer from the 1800s, Samuel Lewis, thought differently. He called it "a small edifice of no interest." But today, we know how truly special and rare St Mary's Church is.