St Tyfi's Church is the former

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, ...

of Llandyfeisant, near

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the B ...

and part of the

Dinefwr Park Dinefwr Park National Nature Reserve is an estate about a mile (1.5 kilometres) from the centre of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire owned by the National Trust, with a mansion in the centre. The highest point is occupied by the ruined Dinefwr Castle ...

estate in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

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 ...

."Llandyfeisant church", Llandeilo Past and Present
/ref> It was dedicated to the Welsh saint Tyfei, nephew of

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

History

The history of the site may stretch back to pre-Christian times. The small stone church was first constructed in medieval times. It was first mentioned in the Ecclesiastical Taxation of 1291. By 1324, it was assigned to

Talley Abbey Talley Abbey ( cy, Abaty Talyllychau) is a ruined former monastery of the Premonstratensians ("White Canons") in the village of Talley in Carmarthenshire, Wales, six miles (10 km) north of the market town of Llandeilo. It lies in the River C ...

. The building may have been replaced or enlarged in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century.

Architecture

The church was almost entirely rebuilt in the second half of the nineteenth century. The architect was likely R. Kyrke Pearson from

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, who redesigned Newton House for Lord Dynefwr. The exterior has rubble-stone facings, gable parapets and a stone slate roof. The interior has an open, arched-brace roof with collar-beams and stone corbels, and a window in the south wall from the 13th century from the previous structure."Llandyfeisant church restoration planned", BBC News, May 22, 2011
/ref> The building is no longer used for religious purposes. In 1961, the font and stained-glass window war memorial were removed to nearby St Teilo Church for safekeeping. The building was used as a visitor's information centre by The Welsh Wildlife Trust in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Owned by The Church in Wales and leased to The Welsh Wildlife Trust; the church has over the years fallen into disrepair and is in need of restoration work. Some negotiations started in 2011 which did not materialize, however new negotiations have been started in 2018 which are on going at present. Although occasionally referred to as St Tyfi's Church it is mainly referred to as Llandyfeisant Church and is a building of significant historic interest to the area with a strong connection to The Dinefwr estate. The last Lord Dinefwr is buried in the church grounds as well as many servants who worked on the Dinefwr estate. The building was listed at

Grade II 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 ...

on 18 March 1988, as a "church of moderate architectural interest in an exceptional location at Dynevwr Park, with a fine steeply sloping burial ground with old headstones".

References

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