St Mary's Church, Rhodogeidio is a small medieval church, dating from the 15th century, near Llannerch-y-medd, in

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 ...

, north Wales. It served as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

to another church in the area, St Ceidio's. Some restoration work was carried out in the 19th century, but St Mary's has since fallen into disuse and is now largely in ruins. It is a Grade II listed building, a national designation given to "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them", in particular because it is "a late Medieval church of exceptionally simple character", and is virtually unaltered despite its poor condition. One writer has said that St Mary's "has the distinction of probably being the most isolated church in Anglesey".

History and location

St Mary's Church is in the countryside in Rhodogeidio, in

, north Wales. It is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Llannerch-y-medd, towards the north of Anglesey. It is reached by a footpath from a farm – it is only accessible on foot – and is surrounded by a churchyard. It was built in the 15th century as a

to serve

St Ceidio's Church, Rhodogeidio St Ceidio's Church, Rhodogeidio is a rural 19th-century church near Llannerch-y-medd, in Anglesey, north Wales. It was built using materials from the 14th-century church that previously stood on the site, which has been used for Christian worship ...

, about 0.75 miles (1.25 km) to the east. Restoration work was carried out in the 19th century, but the church later fell into disuse. It has been in ruins since sometime between 1937, when the survey by the

Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectura ...

recorded its condition as "fair", and 1970, when it was given

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

status and its "very poor" condition noted.

Architecture and fittings

Approaching the ruined St Mary's from the North

St Mary's is a small church, measuring 30 feet by 12 feet 3 inches (about 9.1 by 3.7 m). It dates from the late medieval period, and was constructed using

rubble masonry Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

and large stones. It had a slate roof, although most of the roof has now gone, and there is a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

at the west end, which may be original rather than a later addition. There is no physical division between 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 the

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. Ove ...

, although one account in the 19th century said that there had originally been a screen separating them, and some traces of it still remained at that time. Entrance to the church was through a doorway with a square head, in the north wall at the west end; this dates from the 19th century. An inscribed stone near the doorway has the date 1798 and some initials, and it has been suggested that this marked the date of some renovation work. There are two windows on the south wall, one fully blocked and one partially blocked. The small window at the east end of the church dates from the latter part of the 15th century. Inside, little remains, but the ruins still have most of the original roof trusses (one, at the west end of the church, is a replacement). There are some slate memorial tablets on the walls, dating from the middle of the 19th century, and a plain 12th-century circular font. The 1937 survey noted a bell dating from 1717 and some portions of 17th-century panelled seating near the pulpit; these were not recorded when the church was given listed status in 1970.

Assessment

St Mary's has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II

– the lowest of the three grades of listing, designating "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them". It was given this status on 12 May 1970 and has been listed because it is "a late Medieval church of exceptionally simple character".

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

(the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that despite its "very poor condition", St Mary's "is a virtually unaltered late Medieval building (even retaining the original roof trusses) and in its isolation, is characteristic of many churches on the island." Writing in 1859, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones called it a "small, plain, single-aisled chapel", and said that one of the small south windows was "a good specimen of its kind." A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey says that the "roofless ruin" of St Mary's "has the distinction of probably being the most isolated church in Anglesey".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodogeidio, Saint Mary Former churches in Anglesey 15th-century church buildings in Wales Grade II listed churches in Anglesey Llannerch-y-medd Church ruins in Wales Grade II listed ruins in Wales