The parish church of St Peter ad Vincula (meaning '' Saint Peter in Chains'') in the village of Pennal in

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 ...

, north-west Wales, is notable as the site of the last senate meeting held by the Welsh prince

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

. It was founded in the 6th century by Saints Tanwg and Eithrias, who were missionaries from Brittany, and is the only church in Wales with this dedication. It is now part of the benefice of Bro Ystumanner in the diocese of Bangor. It is thought that the church was so named by Glyndŵr in competition with the chapel of

St Peter ad Vincula Saint Peter ad Vincula (Saint Peter in Chains) alludes to the Bible story of the Liberation of Saint Peter, when the Apostle Peter, imprisoned by King Herod Agrippa, was rescued by an angel. Frequently seen translations are: *English – St Peter i ...

in the Tower of London, one of the chapels royal of his rival, King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...

. Pennal was regarded with honour because of its status as one of the 21 ''llysoedd'', the courts of the native Welsh Princes of Gwynedd. A copy of Glyndŵr's " Pennal Letter" of 1406, a letter to King Charles VI of France, setting out his plans for an independent Wales, originated from Pennal. While the original letter remains in the Archives Nationales in Paris, a copy is displayed at the Parliament House in Machynlleth, and at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

. The letter was briefly returned to Wales from France for an exhibition at the

in 2000, and a campaign has since sprung up for it to be returned permanently to Wales and put on show at the

Senedd 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 Gove ...

in Cardiff. A memorial garden was created in the churchyard for the native Welsh princes, during the rectorship of Rev. Geraint ap Iorwerth, who was responsible for the church from 1989 until 2012. On his departure, he claimed that the Christian Church had become "cosy club for members who abide by the rules, accepting of their place in the hierarchy". He had previously been the centre of controversy when he burned pages from the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

as part of an "art experiment". The garden contains a bronze statue of Owain Glyndŵr, made by Dave Haynes of Bethesda, which was unveiled in 2004. Local celebrity

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

, who had made a donation towards the cost of the statue, attended the opening ceremony. Other notable donors included

Ray Gravell Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions ...

, Aneurin Jones and

Julia Ormond Julia Karin Ormond (born 4 January 1965) is an English actress. She rose to prominence by appearing in ''The Baby of Mâcon'' (1993), '' Legends of the Fall'' (1994), ''First Knight'' (1995), ''Sabrina'' (1995), '' Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (199 ...

. The church is a Grade II listed building, much of which dates from the 18th century, the original medieval church having been rebuilt in 1700. The porch is built of stone from nearby Llugwy Quarry. The interior includes

stained glass 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 ...

windows by Holland & Holt (1872) and by Ernest Penwarden (1923).

References

External links

Profile on castlewales.com
– British Library article
Artwork at St Peter ad Vincula, Penna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennal, Saint Peter ad Vincula 18th-century Church in Wales church buildings Grade II listed churches in Gwynedd

See also

References

External links