St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in
Llaniestyn,
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 ...
, in
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 ...
. A church is said to have been founded here by
St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. The church was extended in the 14th century, with further changes over the coming years. It contains a 12th-century font and a 14th-century memorial stone to Iestyn, from the same workshop as the stone to St Pabo at
St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo.
The church is still in use, as part of the
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 ...
, and is one of seven churches in a combined parish. It is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest",
because of its age and retention of many original features, including the Iestyn effigy.
History and location

St Iestyn's Church stands in a churchyard in a rural part of eastern Anglesey, near the village of
Llanddona.
[ The church gave its name to the area of Llaniestyn: the Welsh word ' originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", with the saint's name as a suffix. The date of foundation of the church is unknown. Geraint Jones, author of a 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey, notes that it is thought that St Iestyn, a nephew of the Anglesey saint St Cybi, established a religious community in this place in the 7th century.] It was the last of the churches that he established.[
According to the 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis, the church was donated by ]Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...
(–1240) to the priory he had established at Llanfaes
Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...
. It is known that there was a church here before 1254 as it is recorded in the Norwich Valuation of that year. The oldest parts of the building, including the blocked west door, date back to the 12th century. There was an extension to the chancel, probably in the 14th century; the east window is 15th-century, and the south door dates from about 1500. The 16th century saw the addition of the south transept. Restoration work took place in 1865 (renewing the roof and adding the north window) and in 1954, when the west door was discovered.
St Iestyn's is still in use for worship and belongs to the 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 ...
.[ It is one of seven churches within the combined ]benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of Beaumaris with Llanddona and Llaniestyn.[ It is within the ]deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...
of Tindaethwy and Menai, the archdeaconry
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...
of Bangor and the Diocese of Bangor. As of 2012, the rector is the Reverend Neil Fairlamb.
Architecture and fittings
The church was built using rough rubble masonry
Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...
with stone coping
Coping refers to conscious or unconscious strategies used to reduce and manage unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. To cope is to deal with struggles and difficulties in life. It ...
s, with some parts covered in render.[ The ]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 ...
and 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 ...
together measure 38 feet 3 inches by 15 feet 6 inches (11.66 by 4.72 m); the south transept is . The internal walls have been whitewashed.[ The roof is made of ]slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
. There is no change in the structure to denote the internal division between the nave, which is the oldest part of the building, and the chancel. There is a bellcote
A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
at the west end of the roof. The church entrance is through a porch on the south side; it has been rebuilt, with some of the material dating from the 15th century. There is a round-headed door inside a square door frame, with the date 1764 on the hinge.[
The east window in the chancel is in the shape of a pointed arch and dates from the 15th century; it has three lights topped with ]cinquefoil
''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae.
Potentillas may also be called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five fin ...
s and a hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin , lip), drip mould or dripstone is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a '' pediment''. This moulding can be ...
. On the north side of the nave there is a rectangular window from 1865. The 16th-century south transept has windows in the south and east walls: the south window has three lights topped with trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture, Pagan and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with f ...
s in a 16th-century arch, and the east window is small and rectangular, using some dressings from the 14th century.[ The wide opening between the transept and the rest of the church is spanned with a large wooden beam.]
The west wall of the south transept holds a late-14th-century carved effigy stone of St Iestyn; he wears a hooded cloak with a brooch, holding a staff in his right hand and an inscribed scroll in his left. He is bearded and has the appearance of a hermit,[ or of a ]Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friar (Samuel Lewis commenting that the cord and tassel hanging from the girdle around his waist were similar to those worn by monks in that order).[ There are flowers in the background.][ The historian Peter Lord has written that the depiction of the staff and brooch is so accurate that it suggests that "these artefacts, which were already objects of veneration, survived for the sculptor to copy". The inscription reads ' ("Here lies Iestyn to whom Gwenllian ferch Madog and Gruffydd ap Gwilym offered this image for the health of their souls").][ It is made of grey ]sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, from Flintshire
Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...
in north-east Wales – an area where the donor of the effigy, Gruffudd ap Gwilym, had land. He also had land at Llaniestyn, and it is probable that he paid for rebuilding work at the church. The woman appearing in the inscription was Gruffudd's aunt. The stone originates from the same workshop as similar memorials in the area: there is one at Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral () is the cathedral church of Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Deiniol, Saint Deiniol.
The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship ...
, and one to St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo (also on Anglesey). The stone may originally have been used as part of a shrine for the saint. It was positioned in front of the altar in the 18th century, but was thereafter moved to its present location.[
The cylindrical font, at the west end of the nave, is from the 12th century. The outside of the font is decorated with carvings in three bands. The bottom band contains round-headed arches, the middle band has a series of chevrons, and the top band has various crosses, chequerwork patterns and other decorations.][ It has similarities of design and style with the font at ]St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a redundant Anglican church in Llanbeulan, in Anglesey, north Wales. The nave, which is the oldest part of the building, dates from the 12th century, with a chancel and side chapel added in the 14th century. Th ...
. There is an 18th-century stone tablet recording benefactions to the poor of the parish on the north wall of the chancel. The communion table and rails date from the late 17th century.[
]
Assessment
The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
– the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".[ It was given this status on 30 January 1968, and has been listed because it is a "good Medieval rural church which retains many original and early features".][ ]Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
(the Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and for the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) particularly notes the "fine 14th-century effigy memorial" of St Iestyn.[
Writing in 1847, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones said that the church was one of the "plainest" in Anglesey, but had "two treasures".] He described the font as "remarkably curious", and said that there were "few monumental effigies in Wales of a higher antiquarian value" than the image of St Iestyn.[ A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region notes the "barn-like" entrance of the porch, and describes the effigy of St Iestyn as "surprisingly accomplished".][
]
References
External links
Photographs of the church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llaniestyn, Saint Iestyn
Grade II* listed churches in Anglesey
Church in Wales church buildings in Anglesey
12th-century church buildings in Wales
Llanddona