St Cwyfan's Church, Llangwyfan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St Cwyfan's Church is a
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 ...
-listed medieval church in
Llangadwaladr Llangadwaladr () is a small village in south-west Anglesey, Wales, located around 2 miles east of Aberffraw and 3 miles south of Gwalchmai. It is part of the community of Bodorgan. The village is a short distance from the ancient ''llys'' ( en ...
,
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. Located on the small
tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
of
Cribinau Cribinau is a small tidal island off the south west coast of the isle of Anglesey in Wales between Porth China and Porth Cwyfan. The island is in Aberffraw Community, about west of Aberffraw village. The island can be reached on foot at low ti ...
, it is popularly known as the "Little Church in the Sea" (or ''Eglwys bach y môr'' in Welsh). The church dates from the 12th century, with some renovations made in the 19th century.


History and architecture

Dating from the 12th century, St Cwyfan's Church is dedicated to Saint Kevin, who founded the
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
at
Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...
in County Wicklow, Ireland. The church originally stood at the end of a peninsula between two bays, Porth Cwyfan and Porth China. In later years the sea slowly eroded around the coast in the two bays, therefore the peninsula was cut off, turning
Cribinau Cribinau is a small tidal island off the south west coast of the isle of Anglesey in Wales between Porth China and Porth Cwyfan. The island is in Aberffraw Community, about west of Aberffraw village. The island can be reached on foot at low ti ...
into a small
tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
. As a consequence, a causeway was built to the island to allow the local population to get to the church. In 1766 the Bishop of Bangor appointed Thomas Bowles as the parish priest of
Trefdraeth Trefdraeth is a hamlet in Anglesey, Wales, within the Community (Wales), community of Bodorgan about southwest of the county town of Llangefni. Trefdraeth's Church in Wales St Beuno's Church, Trefdraeth, parish church of St Beuno dates from ...
, which included St Cwyfan's Church. Bowles spoke no
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 ...
, and only five of the 500 church-goers understood English. As a result, they protested against his appointment and the case was heard in an ecclesiastical court in 1773. The judge ruled that Welsh-speaking priests should be sent to primarily Welsh-speaking parishes. The waves continued to erode Cribinau until the late 19th century, when some of the graves surrounding the church began to fall into the sea. During this time the church fell into disrepair; the walls became disused and roofless, and the church was consequently replaced by a new building further inland in Llangwyfan. However, in 1893 a local architect,
Harold Hughes Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affil ...
, raised money to save the church by constructing a seawall around the Cribinau, and for the restoration of the building.


Current use

The church remains in use and is popular for weddings and baptisms.


Welsh language controversy

By 1766 St Cwyfan, Llangwyfan was a chapelry of the parish of St Beuno, Trefdraeth. In that year John Egerton,
Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...
, appointed an elderly English priest, Dr Thomas Bowles, to the parish and chapelry. Between them the parish and chapelry had about 500 parishioners, of whom all but five spoke only Welsh, whereas Bowles spoke only English. The parishioners and
churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
s of Trefdraeth petitioned against Bowles's appointment, with the
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...
supporting and helping to fund their case. The
Court of Arches The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...
heard evidence in the case in May 1770 but did not hear the prosecution and defence arguments until January 1773. The prosecution argued that Bowles's inability to minister in Welsh contravened Article XXV of the Articles of Religion, the Act for the Translation of the Scriptures into Welsh 1563 and the Act of Uniformity 1662. The defence argued that the prosecution would have to prove that Bowles was totally incapable of speaking any Welsh at all, and even if they did so Bowles had lawfully been granted the ecclesiastical freehold and therefore could not be deprived of it. The case was judged by the
Dean of the Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary tribun ...
, George Hay. In January 1773 he ruled that only clergy who could speak Welsh should be appointed to Welsh-speaking parishes, and Bowles should not have been appointed, but he now held the ecclesiastical freehold of the benefice and the case to deprive him of it had not been proved. He therefore let Bowles stay in post, which he did until he died in November of that year. Bowles was then replaced in the parish and chapelry with Richard Griffith, a priest who spoke Welsh.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llangwyfan, Saint Cwyfan's Church 12th-century church buildings in Wales Grade II* listed churches in Anglesey