St Gredifael's Church is a former

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Penmynydd Penmynydd (; ), meaning "top of the mountain" in Welsh, is a village and community on Anglesey, Wales. It is known for being the birthplace of the Tudors of Penmynydd, which became the House of Tudor. The population according to the United Kingd ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Wales. The church was originally constructed in the 6th century by St Gredifael for whom it was named with the current stone building being constructed in the 12th century. The church holds the tomb of Goronwy ap Tudur Hen, a member of the House of Tudor and ancestor to the Tudor

Kings of England This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...

. It is a grade II* listed building.

History

The church was first constructed on the site in the 6th century AD by Saint Gredifael with a more substantial stone building being constructed later in the 12th century. The church was later reconstructed in the 14th century, with the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

being built using Norman carved stone. The church was extended in the early 15th century with the inclusion of a new north chapel (which later became known as the Tudor chapel) and new porch on the south side. Restoration work was later carried out in 1848 and again in 1969 to repair the upper sections of the walls. In 2010, there were concerns that the church would close due to being unable to afford necessary repairs. However the church was awarded a financial grant from the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

to allow for the repairs to be carried out and the church to remain open. The church has since closed. The church was granted grade II* listed status in 1968. The reason for it being listed was because it was a "...as a scarcely restored medieval rural church housing an exceptionally fine late C14 alabaster effigy tomb." It also stated that "the church is of immense local and national historic interest for its connection with the Tudor family of Plas Penmynydd."

Tudor Family

The church is closely linked to the House of Tudor as it is located in the village where the dynasty was founded. Inside the church in the north chapel is the alabaster tomb of Goronwy ap Tudur Hen, the great uncle of

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...

of the House of Tudor alongside his wife Myfanwy Fychan. His tomb was not originally installed at St Gredifael's Church. However, it was moved there from

Llanfaes Friary Llanfaes Friary was a Franciscan friary in the now vanished medieval town of Llanfaes, close to what is now Beaumaris, in south east Anglesey, Wales. It was founded around 1237 in memory of Joan, wife of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. The Friary survive ...

following the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Dissolution of the Monasteries by his successor

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The tombs themselves are damaged from vandalism due to pilgrims taking chips off them because of a belief that the tombs materials had healing properties. As a result of this, the effigy of Goronwy on the top of his tomb is missing its hands and the effigy on top of Mfanwy's tomb is missing its fingers. The interior design pays tribute to the Tudor lineage with

Tudor Rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic badge, heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor ...

s in the

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s alongside a

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down gr ...

representing the

House of Beaufort The House of Beaufort is an English noble and quasi-royal family, which originated in the fourteenth century as the legitimated issue of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (the third surviving son of King Edward III), whose eldest legitimate ...

. The window has the motto "UNDEB FEL RHOSYN YW AR LAN AFONYDD AC FEL TY DUR AR BEN Y MYNYDDD" (Unity is like a rose on a river bank and like a house of steel on top of a mountain) on it and

fleur de lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

on the ends of the

pew A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...

s in reference to

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of Englan ...

, wife of

Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background Owe ...

and the Tudor claim to the French throne. In 2007, the church was visited by the House of Tudor's descendant and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom,

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

References

External links

Artwork at St Gredifael's Church, Penmynydd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gredifaels Church, Penmynydd Penmynydd, St Gredifael Penmynydd, St Gredifael Burial sites of the House of Tudor