Llanfaglan
Encyclopedia
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, north-west Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It lay in the medieval cwmwd of Is Gwyrfai.
Llanfaglan is located 2 miles south-west of Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
on the shore of the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
. Fort Belan
Fort Belan
Fort Belan is a coastal fortress in North Wales. It is located opposite Abermenai Point, at the south-western end of the Menai Strait, on the coast of Gwynedd, in the parish of Llanwnda...
, a Grade I listed building is at the extremity of the parish guarding the entrance of the Strait.
The church in Llanfaglan, St Baglan's
St Baglan's Church, Llanfaglan
St Baglan's Church, Llanfaglan, is a redundant church in the parish of Llanfaglan, Gwynedd, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches...
(Grid reference
British national grid reference system
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using latitude and longitude....
) stands alone in the middle of a field and is now a friendless church owned by the Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches is a registered charity active in England and Wales. It campaigns for and rescues redundant historic churches threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. To that end, as of August 2010, it owns 43 former churches or chapels, 23 of which...
. The church, which may have a pre-Christian foundation, contains a stone inscribed Lovernus Fil. Other stones date to the 5th and 6th centuries. Although the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
church probably dates from the 13th century, additions date from the 17th century as do the internal fittings. The church remains consecrated and is still in occasional use.
Baglan's Well
Next to the church in an open field once stood a wellWater well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
known as Ffynnon Faglan or Baglan's Well. Llanfaglan was said to be the holy place of St. Baglan yg Coet Alun and the erection of the well was attributed to him. The water in the well was said to have healing powers. The afflicted area would be bathed and then into the well would be dropped a pin. The well was used also for the cure of wart
Wart
A wart is generally a small, rough growth, typically on a human’s hands or feet but often other locations, that can resemble a cauliflower or a solid blister. They are caused by a viral infection, specifically by human papillomavirus 2 and 7. There are as many as 10 varieties of warts, the most...
s. The wart would be washed, pricked with a pin and the pin then thrown into the well. The well was subsequently dredged in the nineteenth century (two basins of bent pins were recovered) and no longer exists. A font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is carved into the rock within a few yards of the site of the well.