The Old Church of St Gwenllwyfo, Llanwenllwyfo is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

ruined church near Dulas, in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, Wales, perhaps built in the 15th century to replace another church from which only the 12th-century font survived. Dedicated to Gwenllwyfo, a 7th-century female saint about whom nothing else is known, it was used 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, generally due to trav ...

for the church in

Amlwch Amlwch () is a port town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 road, A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Am ...

, about away. Restored in 1610 and again in the 18th and 19th centuries, it contained an oak screen and pulpit from 1610. It was replaced in the middle of the 19th century by a larger church about two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) away, to which some of the contents, including a memorial brass plaque from the early 17th century and the church bell, were removed; other items were left behind. The disused church was noted to be in bad condition in 1937, and the roof collapsed in 1950. Little of the structure now remains, as the walls have been reduced to in height.

History and location

The ruins of St Gwenllwyfo's Church stand near Dulas, in the north-east of

, Wales. The date of construction of the first church on the site is unknown. There was a church here in medieval times: one 19th-century writer suggested that the present building dates from the 15th century and that the font, probably 12th century in date, was the only surviving part of an earlier church on the site. Restoration work was carried out in about 1610 and in the 18th century; the latter changes eradicated the church's historical details. The church (dedicated to Gwenllwyfo, a 7th-century woman about whom nothing else is known) was a

attached to the parish of

, about away. The parish

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s, however, were divided between the

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Diocese of Bangor of the Church in Wales. The Episcopal see, see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Bangor Cathedral, Cathedral Church of Sa ...

and the incumbent of

St Eilian's Church, Llaneilian Llaneilian () is a village and community (Wales), community in Anglesey, Wales. It is located in the north east of the island, east of Amlwch, north west of Menai Bridge and north of Llangefni. The community includes the villages and hamlet ...

. The area takes its name from the church: the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-wenllwyfo" is a modified form of the saint's name. In 1812, the priest responsible for the church was Edward Hughes, whose wife was the niece of the owner of Llys Dulas, the landed estate in the area. He employed an architect to carry out some further restoration work, although the details are unknown. The church was in need of further repair by the middle of the 19th century, and the congregation needed a larger building. A new church was therefore built between 1854 and 1856 about two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) away, financed largely by the widow of William Hughes, 1st Baron Dinorben (the son of Edward Hughes). The old church, which was allowed to fall into ruins, stands in a disused cemetery surrounded by trees.

Architecture and fittings

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

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of the church were not structurally divided, and measure 39 feet 6 inches by 15 feet 9 inches (12 by 4.8 m). The walls are thick. In 1844, it was recorded as having a coved roof, doors in the north and south walls and windows in the east, north and west walls. It also had a pulpit and an oak screen, high, both dated 1610. The screen had inscriptions in Welsh and Latin, and a note that "Richard Williams of Rhodogeidio who married Marcelly Lloyd at his own charge caused all this worke to be don to the honor of God and his church". A brass plaque, erected in 1609 by Williams in memory of his wife, was moved to the new church. Another screen was later added at the west end to stop the wind blowing into the nave, and two windows were added on opposite sides of the chancel. Two

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s were installed during the 18th century, and a bell (now used by the new church) was added. At the time of a survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire in 1937, although the building was in bad condition with an insecure roof, it still retained an 18th-century oak communion table, a rectangular font dating from the 12th century, the 1610 screen (damaged), the pulpit, fragments of an oak

sounding board A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platf ...

(also dated 1610) and some 18th-century memorials. There were also stone benches along the north and south walls, and some wooden benches from the 18th or early 19th century. The medieval roof trusses were also still in place in 1937, but the roof collapsed in 1950. The walls have since been lowered to a height of .

Assessment

The antiquarian Angharad Llwyd described the church in 1833 as "a small neat edifice, appropriately fitted up for the performance of divine service". Samuel Lewis, writing in the middle of the 19th century, said that the church was "a conspicuous and interesting object" in a parish that "partakes much of the general character of dreary sterility by which the mining districts in the immediate vicinity are distinguished". However, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones, writing in 1859 about the church as it had been 15 years earlier, said that "the whole building was in bad repair". One writer described the church in the 1970s as "a roofless, forgotten shell".

References

External links

Photographs of the church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gwenllwyfos Old Church Llanwenllwyfo Llanwenllwyfo Old Church Demolished buildings and structures in Wales Llaneilian Church ruins in Wales