St Tanwg's Church, Llandanwg, also known as "the church in the sand", is an early medieval

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

dedicated to St Tanwg in the village of

Llandanwg Llandanwg () is a village in the Llanfair community of the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales. Situated on the coast, it has a railway station and a Grade II listed medieval church. The village Llandanwg is situated to the west of the A496 coasta ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

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 ...

. The church is a

Grade I 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, H ...

listed building.

Location

The church is located in sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s, about 20m from the

high water mark A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such a mark is often the result of a flood, but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, an annual high (highest level to which water rose tha ...

St George's Channel St George's Channel (, ) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It separates Wexford on the southeastern corner of Ireland from St Davids in on the southwestern tip of Wales. Origin of nam ...

, at the southern end of the village of Llandanwg. It is also known as "the church in the sand". To the south west of the church is the mouth of the River Artro.

History

The current building is medieval, with the western end possibly dating back to the 13th century. However, the presence of 6th century inscribed stones, and the dedication to St Tanwg, suggest much earlier use of the site as a church, possibly dating to around 453 AD as part of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

's work to establish links between Ireland and Britain. St Tanwg's was extended to the east, including a tall east window and the addition of a rood screen, in the 15th century. The church was restored in the 17th century when windows were rebuilt and changed. This was also probably when a choir loft was removed and floor beams moved to the back of the church. The initials REP and date 1685, which are cut into a cross incised stone on the west gable, may date this period of alteration. The first recorded incumbent for the parish was Rector Thomas Humphrey in 1662. The floor of the church was flagged in 1786 and, three years later, some medieval paintings were lost during replastering and repainting of the walls. St Tanwg's had been the

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 ...

for the parish of Llandanwg, which included the small town of

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

, for hundreds of years but between 1839 and 1841 a new parish church (also dedicated to St Tanwg) was built in Harlech. The old church was abandoned, and the 15th century octagonal font, bell and other furnishings, removed to the new building. The church soon fell into disrepair, with roof tiles lost, and the roof at the west end falling in. The church filled with sand and was used by fishermen who hung their nets on the altar rail. In 1884 the church was re-roofed for £80 by the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

, who had raised an appeal for funds. Since then, more work has been done on various occasions, with a major restoration costing £20,000 in 1987.

Architecture

St Tanwg's church is a simple rectangular building, long (west-east) and wide (north-south), with a continuous

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 ...

. The nave is probably 13th century, with the chancel added in the 15th century. The church is built of local rubble stone with larger stone

quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...

and gritstone dressings. The roof is of slate with rough stone dressings. Llandanwg 08 Yr eglwys

The church is accessed through a door in the west wall. The doorway is arched with radiating quoins. There was probably once a gabled porch above the doorway, indicated by the stonework above the entrance. Above the door, on the roof, is a small

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 ...

, housing one, undated, bell. The south wall includes a blocked off door from the 13th century, a window added to the nave in the 17th century, and a window in the 15th century chancel.. The north wall includes a window added to the nave in the 17th century, and a window in the 15th century chancel. The east wall was added as part of the 15th century extension of the building and included a tall window, which was replaced by a smaller window in the 17th century.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llandanwg, Saint Tanwg Saint Tanwg's Church Grade I listed churches in Gwynedd Church in Wales church buildings in Gwynedd 13th-century church buildings in Wales