St Cybi's Church is a medieval church near the Roman Caer Gybi in

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and i ...

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 Grade I listed in January 1968. The original church was constructed at Holyhead around 540 AD by St Cybi, a cousin of St David. The church was sacked by

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invaders in the 10th century and damaged again in 1405 by Henry IV's invading force. The present church was built in the 13th century and stands near the Roman fort in Holyhead.

History

The original church on an early Christian monastic settlement was established at

around 540 AD by St Cybi, a cousin of St David. Cybi chose to build his monastery within the walls of a ruined Roman fort. In the 10th century the original church was sacked by

raiders. In 1405, it was damaged by Henry IV's troops, who invaded

from Ireland as part of Henry's efforts to put down

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 ...

's rebellion. The present church of St Cybi's was built in between the 13th to 16th centuries and stands near the walls of the Roman Caer Gybi. The chancel is one of the oldest parts of the church, dating to the 13th century. In 1897 a chapel designed by British architect Hamo Thornycroft was added to the south. Further renovations were undertaken in the 20th century. A

sun dial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

with the inscription "Yr hoedl ar hyd ei haros a dderfydd yn nydd ac yn nos", which translates to "Life though long it stay will end in night and day", is located on the south transept. Ornamental figures are located throughout the church, both inside and out.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Cybi's Church Grade I listed churches in Anglesey Holyhead