St Cadfan's Church ( cy, Eglwys Cadfan) is situated in

Tywyn Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the loc ...

in the county of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, formerly

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The church is noted for its Romanesque architecture and for housing the

Cadfan Stone Inside St Cadfan's Church, Tywyn, Gwynedd is an inscribed stone cross called the Cadfan Stone (or the ''Tywyn Stone''). On it are the earliest known inscriptions in the Welsh language, specifically in Old Welsh. Recent scholarship dates the i ...

, a stone cross dating from ninth century or earlier which is inscribed with the oldest known written

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. ''

Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Bru ...

'' states that the church was sacked by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

in 963, and during the twelfth century it was the subject of a memorable poem by Llywelyn Fardd (I). The earliest parts of the building date to the twelfth century, and it originally had a central tower, although this fell down in 1693. The church houses two fourteenth-century monuments. One of the

effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

is of an unknown priest in full

Eucharistic vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this w ...

. The other is a military figure thought to be Gruffudd ab Adda (d. c. 1350) of Dôl-goch and

Ynysymaengwyn Ynysymaengwyn was a gentry house in the parish of Tywyn, Gwynedd (formerly Merioneth), situated near the left bank of the River Dysynni. The name means 'the white stone island'. Early history It was in the commote of Ystumanner or Ystum Anne ...

. The effigy is known as the 'Crying Knight' due to a flaw in the stone at his right eye which becomes damp during wet weather, giving the impression of weeping. The

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, which was built in the early 19th century, still stands on National Street. It is now a private house called 'Tŷ Cadfan Sant'.Coflein: Tŷ Cadfan Sant
National Street (formerly Duck Street) was named after the National School, later Towyn Church School, which was once located on the street.

References

External links

Church WebsiteArtwork at St Cadfan's Church, Tywyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tywyn, Saint Cadfan Church in Wales church buildings Grade I listed churches in Gwynedd 12th-century church buildings in Wales History of Gwynedd

Saint Cadfan Saint Cadfan ( la, Catamanus), sometimes Anglicized as Gideon, was the 6th century founder-abbot of Tywyn (whose church is dedicated to him) and Bardsey, both in Gwynedd, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Saint ...