St Gredifael's Church is a former

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in Penmynydd,

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. The church was originally constructed in the 6th century by St Gredifael for whom it was named with the current stone building being constructed in the 12th century. The church holds the tomb of

Goronwy ap Tudur Hen Goronwy ap Tudur Hen (died 1331), also known as Goronwy ap Tudur or Goronwy Fychan, was a Welsh aristocrat and Lord of Penmynydd. He was a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, Anglesey, North Wales, and a direct ancestor of Owen Tudor and ...

, a member of the

House of Tudor The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of Kingdom of England, England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled ...

and ancestor to the Tudor

Kings of England This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the heptarchy, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the ...

. It is a grade II* listed building.

History

The church was first constructed on the site in the 6th century AD by Saint Gredifael with a more substantial stone building being constructed later in the 12th century. The church was later reconstructed in the 14th century, with 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 ...

being built using Norman carved stone. The church was extended in the early 15th century with the inclusion of a new north chapel (which later became known as the Tudor chapel) and new porch on the south side. Restoration work was later carried out in 1848 and again in 1969 to repair the upper sections of the walls. In 2010, there were concerns that the church would close due to being unable to afford necessary repairs. However the church was awarded a financial grant from the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

to allow for the repairs to be carried out and the church to remain open. The church has since closed. The church was granted grade II* listed status in 1968. The reason for it being listed was because it was a "...as a scarcely restored medieval rural church housing an exceptionally fine late C14 alabaster effigy tomb." It also stated that "the church is of immense local and national historic interest for its connection with the Tudor family of Plas Penmynydd."

Tudor Family

The church is closely linked to the House of Tudor as it is located in the village where the dynasty was founded. Inside the church in the north chapel is the alabaster tomb of

, the great-uncle of

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

of the House of Tudor alongside his wife Myfanwy Fychan. His tomb was not originally installed at St Gredifael's Church. However, it was moved there from Llanfaes Friary following 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, ...

Dissolution of the Monasteries by his successor

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. The tombs themselves are damaged from vandalism due to pilgrims taking chips off them because of a belief that the tombs materials had healing properties. As a result of this, the effigy of Goronwy on the top of his tomb is missing its hands and the effigy on top of Mfanwy's tomb is missing its fingers. The interior design pays tribute to the Tudor lineage with Tudor Roses in the

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

s alongside a

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

representing the

House of Beaufort The House of Beaufort ( ) is an English noble family which originated in the fourteenth century as the legitimated issue of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, by Katherine Swynford. Gaunt and Swynford had four children: John Beaufort, 1st Ea ...

. The window has the motto "UNDEB FEL RHOSYN YW AR LAN AFONYDD AC FEL TY DUR AR BEN Y MYNYDDD" (Unity is like a rose on a river bank and like a house of steel on top of a mountain) on it and

fleur de lys The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...

on the ends of the pews in reference to

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of King Charles VI of France, she married King Henry V of England and was the mother of King Henry VI. Cath ...

, wife of

Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, – 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background ...

and the Tudor claim to the French throne. In 2007, the church was visited by the House of Tudor's descendant and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom,

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

References

External links

Artwork at St Gredifael's Church, Penmynydd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gredifaels Church, Penmynydd Penmynydd, St Gredifael Penmynydd, St Gredifael Burial sites of the House of Tudor Penmynydd