St Beuno's Church, Trefdraeth
Encyclopedia
St Beuno's Church, Trefdraeth is a medieval parish church, in Anglesey
, north Wales. Although one 19th-century historian stated that the first church on this location was established in 616, no part of any structure from that time survives; the oldest parts of the present building date from the 13th century. Alterations were made over the succeeding centuries, but few of them during the 19th century, a time when many other churches in Anglesey were being rebuilt or restored.
The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
, one of four in a group of parishes, although as of September 2011 there is no parish priest. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is regarded as "an important example of a late Medieval rural church" with an unaltered simple design.
, about 5 miles (8 km) to the south-west of the county town of Llangefni
. It is set within a roughly circular llan (the Welsh term for an enclosed piece of land, particularly around a church) to the north of the road between Trefdraeth and Bethel
. Beuno
, a 7th-century Welsh saint, has several churches in north Wales dedicated to him.
According to Angharad Llwyd
(a 19th-century historian of Anglesey
), the first church on this site was reportedly established in 616. No part of any building from that period survives, and restoration over the years has removed much of the historical evidence for the church's development. The earliest parts of the present structure, the nave
and the chancel
, can be dated to the 13th century. The church shows signs of alterations and additions over the succeeding centuries. A transept
or chapel was added to the south side of the chancel in the late 13th or early 14th century; the arch between them was once the archway between the chancel and the nave but was later moved. The bellcote at the west end of the roof was added in the 14th century; the porch on the south side of the nave was built in about 1500 (although its roof has a date of 1725); a doorway in the north wall of the nave, which is from the late 15th or early 16th century, now leads into a vestry added in the 19th century; and the roof is largely from the 17th century. Some repairs were carried out in the 1840s, with further repairs in 1854 under the supervision of Henry Kennedy (the diocesan architect).
St Beuno's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
. It is one of four churches in the group benefice
(parishes combined under one priest) of Trefdraeth with Aberffraw with Llangadwaladr with Cerrigceinwen. Other churches in the benefice include St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
and St Cadwaladr's Church, Llangadwaladr. The church is within the deanery
of Malltraeth, the archdeaconry of Bangor
and the Diocese of Bangor. As of September 2011, the parishes have been without an incumbent priest since 22 July 2010.
People associated with the church during its history include Henry Perry
(a scholar of rhetoric, appointed priest in 1606); Griffith Williams (appointed rector in 1626 and Dean of Bangor in 1634); David Lloyd (rector during the late 1630s / early 1640s, and thereafter Dean of St Asaph); Robert Morgan
(rector before and after the English Civil War
, and Bishop of Bangor
1666–1673); and John Pryce
(rector 1880–1902, Dean of Bangor 1902–1903). Henry Rowlands
, Bishop of Bangor 1598–1616, was also rector of Trefdraeth during this time, as the income from the parish was attached to the bishopric.
, although squared stones have been used to create courses in the nave's south wall and the lower part of the west wall. There are external buttresses at the west and east ends, the south porch and the south transept. The roof, which is made from hexagonal slates, has a stone bellcote at the west end. Internally, there is no structural division between the nave and the chancel except for the step up into the chancel. The nave and chancel together are 59 feet (18 m) long, and the church is 15 feet (4.6 m) wide. Near the eastern end of the church, there is a transept or chapel on the southern side of the chancel, from which it is separated by a step down and an arch. The transept measures 13 inch by 14 inch.
The windows range in age from the late 14th or early 15th century to the 19th century. The oldest is the east window, in the chancel, which is in the form of a pointed arch with three lights (sections of window separated by mullion
s). It has stained glass of the crucifixion, installed as a memorial in 1907. The window, which dates from the late 14th or early 15th century, uses an 18th-century inscribed slate slab as its sill. The north wall of the nave has a window dating from about 1500, which was originally in the south wall. The west window is rectangular, again from about 1500. On the south side of the nave there are two early 19th-century windows set in square frames, one single light and one double light. The transept has a 19th-century arched window with two lights in its south wall, which contains the oldest stained glass in the church: 15th-century fragments of a crucifixion scene. It also has a pointed arched doorway in its west wall, from the late 13th or early 14th century.
The church is entered through the porch to the western end of the south wall of the nave, which leads to an arched doorway. The internal timbers of the roof, some of which are old, are exposed, although there is a decorated panelled barrel-vaulted ceiling above the sanctuary at the east end of the church. The transept roof largely dates from the 17th century. The cylindrical font, from the 12th century, is at the west end of the church. Four of its six panels are decorated with saltires; a fifth has a Celtic cross in knotwork with a ring; the sixth is blank. One author has pointed out the similarities with the fonts of St Cristiolus's Church, Llangristiolus
, which is about 2 miles (3.2 km) away, and of St Beuno's Church, Pistyll, in the nearby county of Gwynedd
. There are two slate plaques on the walls by the south door commemorating those who made donations to the poor of the parish; one has names from 1761, the other from 1766. On the opposite wall, a 17th-century slate plaque commemorates Hugh ap Richard Lewis and his wife Jane (died 1660 and 1661 respectively). The 1920 pulpit is in Arts and Crafts Movement
style.
A survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire in 1937 also noted the early 18th-century communion rails, a plain oak communion table dated 1731, and a wooden font cover dated 1714. Other memorials, including parts of an early 14th-century inscribed slab, were also recorded. Three items of church silver were included in the survey: a cup (dated 1610–1611), a paten
(1719) and a flagon (1743). Externally, an 18th-century brass sundial on a slate pedestal was noted, as was a weathered decorated stone on the lych gate, thought to be from the 10th century.
(the Welsh Assembly Government
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that the church's "simple design [remained] unaltered during the extensive programme of church re-building and restoration on Anglesey in the 19th century."
Angharad Llwyd described the church in 1833 as "a small neat edifice", with "an east window of modern date and of good design". She noted that the parish registers, legible from 1550 onwards, were the second oldest in north Wales. In similar vein, the 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the church was a "small plain edifice" that could hold nearly 300 people.
Writing in 1846, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones
said that the church "has been lately repaired in a judicious manner, but without any restoration of importance being attempted, and is in good condition". He added that with its "good condition this ranks as one of the better churches of the island." The Welsh politician and church historian Sir Stephen Glynne
visited the church in October 1849. He said that the chapel on the south side resembled several others in Anglesey and Caernarfonshire
. He also noted the new slate roof, the "mostly open and plain" seats, and the "very large cemetery ... commanding an extensive view".
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes St Beuno's as being in "a pleasant and quiet rural location". It adds that the church was "fairly small" and the roof had "unusual ornately-shaped slates". A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region comments that "for once" Kennedy had repaired rather than replaced the church. It notes that "strangely" the chancel arch had been reset in the transept, and says that the nave roof was of "unusual construction".
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, north Wales. Although one 19th-century historian stated that the first church on this location was established in 616, no part of any structure from that time survives; the oldest parts of the present building date from the 13th century. Alterations were made over the succeeding centuries, but few of them during the 19th century, a time when many other churches in Anglesey were being rebuilt or restored.
The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
, one of four in a group of parishes, although as of September 2011 there is no parish priest. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is regarded as "an important example of a late Medieval rural church" with an unaltered simple design.
History and location
St Beuno's Church is in the centre of Trefdraeth, a hamlet in the south-west of Anglesey by Malltraeth MarshMalltraeth Marsh
Malltraeth Marsh is a large marsh area in Anglesey, North Wales, located northeast of Malltraeth village, north of Llangaffo and south of Rhostrehwfa...
, about 5 miles (8 km) to the south-west of the county town of Llangefni
Llangefni
Llangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llangefni was 4,662 people and it is the second largest settlement on the island...
. It is set within a roughly circular llan (the Welsh term for an enclosed piece of land, particularly around a church) to the north of the road between Trefdraeth and Bethel
Bethel, Anglesey
Bethel itself remains a relatively small and quiet village set centrally within the wider community and larger Parish of Bodorgan. The village is located inland from the south-western coast on the isle of Anglesey in North Wales....
. Beuno
Beuno
Saint Beuno was a 7th-century Welsh holy man and Abbot of Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, on the Llŷn peninsula.-Life:Beuno was born in Powys, supposedly at Berriew, the grandson of a prince of that realm. After education and ordination in the monastery of Bangor-on-Dee in north-east Wales, he became an...
, a 7th-century Welsh saint, has several churches in north Wales dedicated to him.
According to Angharad Llwyd
Angharad Llwyd
Angharad Llwyd was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.She was born at Caerwys in Flintshire, the daughter of Rev. John Lloyd, himself a noted antiquary. Her essay entitled Catalogue of Welsh Manuscripts, etc. in North Wales won a prize at the Welshpool...
(a 19th-century historian of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
), the first church on this site was reportedly established in 616. No part of any building from that period survives, and restoration over the years has removed much of the historical evidence for the church's development. The earliest parts of the present structure, the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, can be dated to the 13th century. The church shows signs of alterations and additions over the succeeding centuries. A transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
or chapel was added to the south side of the chancel in the late 13th or early 14th century; the arch between them was once the archway between the chancel and the nave but was later moved. The bellcote at the west end of the roof was added in the 14th century; the porch on the south side of the nave was built in about 1500 (although its roof has a date of 1725); a doorway in the north wall of the nave, which is from the late 15th or early 16th century, now leads into a vestry added in the 19th century; and the roof is largely from the 17th century. Some repairs were carried out in the 1840s, with further repairs in 1854 under the supervision of Henry Kennedy (the diocesan architect).
St Beuno's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
. It is one of four churches in the group benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
(parishes combined under one priest) of Trefdraeth with Aberffraw with Llangadwaladr with Cerrigceinwen. Other churches in the benefice include St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw is a 12th-century parish church in Anglesey, north Wales. A church was established in Aberffraw in the 7th century by St Beuno, who became the abbot of Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd. St Beuno's may have been used as a royal chapel during the early Middle Ages, as the princes...
and St Cadwaladr's Church, Llangadwaladr. The church is within the deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of Malltraeth, the archdeaconry of Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
and the Diocese of Bangor. As of September 2011, the parishes have been without an incumbent priest since 22 July 2010.
People associated with the church during its history include Henry Perry
Henry Perry (writer)
Henry Perry was a Welsh Anglican priest and linguistic scholar.-Life:Perry was born in Flintshire, Wales, and was a descendent of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd...
(a scholar of rhetoric, appointed priest in 1606); Griffith Williams (appointed rector in 1626 and Dean of Bangor in 1634); David Lloyd (rector during the late 1630s / early 1640s, and thereafter Dean of St Asaph); Robert Morgan
Robert Morgan (bishop)
-Life:He was born at Bronfraith in the parish of Llandyssilio in Montgomeryshire, the third son of Richard Morgan, gent., M.P. for Montgomery in 1592-3, and of his wife, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Lloyd of Gwernbuarth...
(rector before and after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and Bishop of Bangor
Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...
1666–1673); and John Pryce
John Pryce
John Pryce was a Welsh clergyman and writer on church history, who became Dean of Bangor Cathedral.-Life:Pryce was the second son of Hugh Price . He was educated at Dolgellau grammar school before matriculating at Jesus College, Oxford in 1847. He obtained his B.A. degree in 1851...
(rector 1880–1902, Dean of Bangor 1902–1903). Henry Rowlands
Henry Rowlands (bishop)
-Life:He was born in the parish of Meyllteyrn or Bottwnog, Carnarvonshire, son of Rolant ap Robert of Meyllteyrn and of Elizabeth, daughter of Griffith ap Robert Vaughan. After being educated at Penllech school, he studied at Oxford, and graduated B.A. from New College on 17 February 1574. He then...
, Bishop of Bangor 1598–1616, was also rector of Trefdraeth during this time, as the income from the parish was attached to the bishopric.
Architecture and fittings
St Beuno's, which is built in the Decorated style, is mainly constructed with rubble masonryRubble masonry
Rubble masonry is rough, unhewn building stone set in mortar, but not laid in regular courses. It may appear as the outer surface of a wall or may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or cut stone....
, although squared stones have been used to create courses in the nave's south wall and the lower part of the west wall. There are external buttresses at the west and east ends, the south porch and the south transept. The roof, which is made from hexagonal slates, has a stone bellcote at the west end. Internally, there is no structural division between the nave and the chancel except for the step up into the chancel. The nave and chancel together are 59 feet (18 m) long, and the church is 15 feet (4.6 m) wide. Near the eastern end of the church, there is a transept or chapel on the southern side of the chancel, from which it is separated by a step down and an arch. The transept measures 13 inch by 14 inch.
The windows range in age from the late 14th or early 15th century to the 19th century. The oldest is the east window, in the chancel, which is in the form of a pointed arch with three lights (sections of window separated by mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
s). It has stained glass of the crucifixion, installed as a memorial in 1907. The window, which dates from the late 14th or early 15th century, uses an 18th-century inscribed slate slab as its sill. The north wall of the nave has a window dating from about 1500, which was originally in the south wall. The west window is rectangular, again from about 1500. On the south side of the nave there are two early 19th-century windows set in square frames, one single light and one double light. The transept has a 19th-century arched window with two lights in its south wall, which contains the oldest stained glass in the church: 15th-century fragments of a crucifixion scene. It also has a pointed arched doorway in its west wall, from the late 13th or early 14th century.
The church is entered through the porch to the western end of the south wall of the nave, which leads to an arched doorway. The internal timbers of the roof, some of which are old, are exposed, although there is a decorated panelled barrel-vaulted ceiling above the sanctuary at the east end of the church. The transept roof largely dates from the 17th century. The cylindrical font, from the 12th century, is at the west end of the church. Four of its six panels are decorated with saltires; a fifth has a Celtic cross in knotwork with a ring; the sixth is blank. One author has pointed out the similarities with the fonts of St Cristiolus's Church, Llangristiolus
St Cristiolus's Church, Llangristiolus
St Cristiolus's Church, Llangristiolus is a medieval church near the village of Llangristiolus, in Anglesey, north Wales. The village, about from the building, takes its name from the church. Reputedly founded by St Cristiolus in 610, the present building dates from the 12th and 13th centuries...
, which is about 2 miles (3.2 km) away, and of St Beuno's Church, Pistyll, in the nearby county of 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...
. There are two slate plaques on the walls by the south door commemorating those who made donations to the poor of the parish; one has names from 1761, the other from 1766. On the opposite wall, a 17th-century slate plaque commemorates Hugh ap Richard Lewis and his wife Jane (died 1660 and 1661 respectively). The 1920 pulpit is in Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style.
A survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire in 1937 also noted the early 18th-century communion rails, a plain oak communion table dated 1731, and a wooden font cover dated 1714. Other memorials, including parts of an early 14th-century inscribed slab, were also recorded. Three items of church silver were included in the survey: a cup (dated 1610–1611), a paten
Paten
A paten, or diskos, is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic bread which is to be consecrated. It is generally used during the service itself, while the reserved hosts are stored in the Tabernacle in a ciborium....
(1719) and a flagon (1743). Externally, an 18th-century brass sundial on a slate pedestal was noted, as was a weathered decorated stone on the lych gate, thought to be from the 10th century.
Assessment
The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated a Grade II* listed building – 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 "an important example of a late Medieval rural church". CadwCadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
(the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that the church's "simple design [remained] unaltered during the extensive programme of church re-building and restoration on Anglesey in the 19th century."
Angharad Llwyd described the church in 1833 as "a small neat edifice", with "an east window of modern date and of good design". She noted that the parish registers, legible from 1550 onwards, were the second oldest in north Wales. In similar vein, the 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the church was a "small plain edifice" that could hold nearly 300 people.
Writing in 1846, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones
Harry Longueville Jones
-Life:Jones was the son of Edward Jones by Charlotte Elizabeth Stephens, was born in Piccadilly, London, in 1806. His father was second son of Captain Thomas Jones of Wrexham, who adopted the additional name of Longueville on succeeding to a portion of the Longueville estates in Shropshire. Jones...
said that the church "has been lately repaired in a judicious manner, but without any restoration of importance being attempted, and is in good condition". He added that with its "good condition this ranks as one of the better churches of the island." The Welsh politician and church historian Sir Stephen Glynne
Sir Stephen Glynne, 9th Baronet
Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 9th Baronet was a Welsh landowner and Conservative Party politician. He is principally remembered as an assiduous antiquary and student of British church architecture...
visited the church in October 1849. He said that the chapel on the south side resembled several others in Anglesey and Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
. He also noted the new slate roof, the "mostly open and plain" seats, and the "very large cemetery ... commanding an extensive view".
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes St Beuno's as being in "a pleasant and quiet rural location". It adds that the church was "fairly small" and the roof had "unusual ornately-shaped slates". A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region comments that "for once" Kennedy had repaired rather than replaced the church. It notes that "strangely" the chancel arch had been reset in the transept, and says that the nave roof was of "unusual construction".
See also
- St Beuno's Church, PenmorfaSt Beuno's Church, PenmorfaSt Beuno's Church, Penmorfa, is a redundant church near the settlement of Penmorfa, some to the northwest of Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.-History:The church stands on a...
– a church near Porthmadog on a site said to have been used by Beuno