Eglwys Sant Mihangel a Sant Sulien Corwen Sir Ddinbych 15

Saint Mael and Saint Sulien's Church is a church located in the town of

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen was part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llang ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was formerly located in the ancient county of

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

Architecture

The church itself dates from the twelfth century and is a single-chambered structure set within a rectangular churchyard, with walls of fourteenth- or fifteenth-century origin. Its

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

dates from the twelfth or thirteenth century and the churchyard includes a tomb from the seventeenth century, besides

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of two soldiers of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Details obtained from casualty record.

Dedication

The church is dedicated to Maël (saint), St Mael and St Sulien, two

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic saints of the sixth century, though it has been suggested that an earlier foundation stood on the hill above. Saints Mael and Sulien are said to have been companions of the

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

Saint Cadfan Cadfan (), was the 6th century founder-abbot of Tywyn (whose church is dedicated to him) and Bardsey, both in Gwynedd, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Einion Frenin, king of Llŷn, around 516 and to have serv ...

(c. 530-ca. 590), who led a group of missionaries to Western Wales with Saint Tydecho, a cousin, and Saint

Cynllo Saint Cynllo () is a Britons (Celtic people), British saint, who lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, generally described as a brother of Saint Teilo. Cynllo was known for "...the sanctity of his life and the austerity of his manners." ...

, a friend. They were also accompanied by nine children of

Ithel Hael Ithel Hael ("Ithel the Generous") or Ithel Hael o Lydaw was a prince of Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of h ...

o Lydaw ( Baglan, Flewyn, Gredifael,

Tanwg Saint Tanwg is the patron saint of Llandanwg, Gwynedd, Wales. He is presumed to be the founder of St Tanwg's Church, the small church at Llandanwg near Harlech, although the presence of an inscribed stone which has been dated to the 5th centur ...

Twrog Saint Twrog - feast day 26 June - was a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded the church at Maentwrog, having come to Wales early in the Age of the Saints. Early life It is believed that Twrog was the son of Ithel Hael o Lydaw of Brittany. He wa ...

, Tegai, Trillo, Tecwyn and Llechid), all of whom became saints in the calendar of the Welsh church. One of them, St Trillo, founded a church just outside Corwen at Llandrillo. There was a

Saint Sulien Saint Sulien, Sulian, or Silin was the reputed 6th-century founder-abbot of a monastery at Luxulyan ("Chapel of Sulien") in Cornwall. His feast day is 29 July. He is likely the same as the Saint Sulien of Cornouaille and Domnonée. The prefix ...

or Sulian who was an abbot of

Luxulyan Luxulyan (; ), also spelt Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles (6.5 km) northeast of St Austell and six miles (10 km) south of Bodmin. The population ...

, in mid

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, during the sixth century. Sulien is a Welsh variant of the given name "Julian," but has also been interpreted as being derived from the Welsh ''sul'', meaning "sun" + ''geni'', meaning "born," Sulien being the name of a Celtic solar deity.

Services

St Mael and St Sulien's offers services in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

The College

In 1709 the wealthy land-owner and benefactor William Eyton established ''Coleg y Groes'' (), attached to St Mael and St Sulien's Church. The College still stands. Eyton established the College as a community of widows, with the intention of providing both an

alms house An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held cer ...

for the residents, and a community of daily prayer attached to the church. Entrance to the College was through the churchyard, with no direct road access (although secondary access is now provided). The College has a central reception and a bakehouse room, beyond which are six individual residences on two storeys (of the one-up, one-down style). Eyton specified that each of the six residences were to be occupied by the widow of a Clerk in holy orders, who must have been a clergyman of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

(the Welsh Anglican church was not yet independent of England in 1750), who had been "in possession of a cure of souls" (in office) within the County of Merioneth at the time of his death. Today the original College building is in good order, and easily accessible by means of a path from the church . It is in private ownership and used as a holiday let business with 2 cottages for rent. It is a grade II* listed building.Listin
status

References

External links