St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo
Encyclopedia
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo is a 19th-century church, in the south of Anglesey
, north Wales, about 5 miles (8 km) from the county town, Llangefni
. It was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo
. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church, and has a spire which is a prominent local landmark. The churchyard has part of a stone cross dating from the 9th or 10th century, and some gravestones from the 9th to 11th centuries. It is dedicated to St Caffo, a 6th-century martyr who was killed in the vicinity.
The church is still in use as part of the Church in Wales
, one of four churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II listed building, a designation given to "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them", in particular because it is regarded as "a mid 19th-century rural church, consistently articulated and detailed in an Early English style".
(a village in Anglesey
about 5 miles (8 km) south of the county town of Llangefni
) is uncertain. The village takes its name from the church: the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-gaffo" is a modified form of the saint's name. St Caffo, a 6th-century Christian, was a companion of St Cybi and was martyred by shepherds in the vicinity of what is now Llangaffo, perhaps in revenge for his brother Gildas
insulting Maelgwn Gwynedd, the local ruler. It is thought that there may have at one point been a monastery in this location, known as "Merthyr Caffo": merthyr is the Welsh word for "martyr", and in place names means a building erected near a saint's grave.
The present building, which is in the north-eastern part of the village on the south-eastern side of the B4419 road, was erected in 1846 alongside the churchyard to a design by the Sheffield
-based architects Weightman and Hadfield. It replaced an older church, which had stood on an adjoining outcrop of rock until it was demolished. It was described by the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones
(writing in 1846, as the new church was being constructed) as a "very small and unimportant edifice"; he also noted that it was the only medieval building remaining in the parish.
The 19th-century church is still in use and belongs to the Church in Wales
. It is one of four churches in the combined benefice
of Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog (St Michael's Church, Gaerwen) with Llangristiolus
(St Cristiolus's Church
) with Llanffinan (St Ffinan's Church
) with Llangaffo. It is within the deanery
of Malltraeth, the archdeaconry of Bangor
and the Diocese of Bangor. As of October 2011, the vicar of the four churches is Emlyn Williams, assisted by a curate (E. R. Roberts). Williams was appointed in 2007; before that, the position had been vacant for 20 years despite many attempts by the Church in Wales to fill it. Services in Welsh are held every Sunday, either Holy Communion or Morning Prayer; there are no midweek services.
Edward Wynn (1618–1669) was rector here from 1658; he later became Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral
, and is buried at the church. James Williams
(1790–1872) was the son of John Williams, rector of St Caffo's. He succeeded his father when he resigned in 1821, and later became Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral
.
dressed with limestone
, in an early English style
(a style of architecture used between about 1180 and 1275, typically using narrow pointed windows and arches). The roof is made of slate. The tower, at the west end, has buttress
es at the corners and is topped with a broach spire
, which is a prominent local landmark. Entrance is through an arched doorway in the north side of the tower. The chancel
, at the east end of the church, is smaller than the nave
in both height and width; there is a transept
on the north side of the chancel. The nave has lancet windows, and there is a further lancet window on the south side of the chancel. The church's east window is set in a pointed arch and has three lights (sections of window separated by mullion
s).
Inside the church, the sanctuary at the east end is raised above the chancel by one step; the floor of the sanctuary and the reredos
behind the altar are made from encaustic tile
s. Fittings include a circular decorated 12th-century font and a 17th-century pulpit with carved decorative panels. A 1937 survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire recorded that the church owned a silver cup and a paten
dated 1736. The transept has a number of memorials dating from the 17th century (including one to Edward Wynn), and a stone from the early 7th century inscribed with
. The church porch houses part of a cross head in the shape of a wheel, dating from the 9th or 10th century; part of the rest of the cross is in the churchyard, but it has suffered significant weather damage with most of the patterns worn away.
The oldest graves are to the north of the church, which is unusual: ordinarily the southern part of the churchyard would be used first for burials, with the northern part remaining unconsecrated unless and until extra space for graves was required. The path between the road and the church has sunken, which may partly be explained by the medieval custom of burying the dead on top of each other. One author has suggested that the mound alongside the path might indicate that the church is located in the site of a Bronze Age settlement.
The churchyard has seven gravestones that were discovered in the walls of the previous church. Six of them date from between the 9th and 11th centuries, and the seventh is from the 12th or 13th century. The doorway from the old church, dating from the 15th century, has been reused as an entrance to the churchyard. A carved stone human head, from the 12th century, has been inserted into the north wall of the churchyard. A war memorial in the shape of a Celtic cross remembers those who died during the First and Second World Wars.
(the Welsh Assembly Government
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales) states that it has been listed because it is "a mid 19th-century rural church, consistently articulated and detailed in an Early English style."
The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the rebuilt church "forms a very good specimen of the early English style of architecture", adding that it was "effective from its simplicity and the absence of pretension." He added that the interior had been "fitted up in a neat and appropriate manner, and the details throughout appear to have been carefully studied". A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey says that the "impressive" tower and steeple" form "a landmark visible for many miles." It also comments that rendering on part of the tower and the south wall makes them less attractive than the north wall.
A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region notes the "exceptional number of inscribed fragments", showing it to be a place of early Christian worship, but considers that the church is "unlovely". Similarly, a 2005 guide to Wales describes St Caffo's as "an uninspiring nineteenth-century church from the outside" but says that it has "a remarkable collection" of memorial stones.
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, about 5 miles (8 km) from the county town, 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 was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo
Llangaffo
Llangaffo is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales. It lies along the B4419 and B4421 roads, north of Dwyran, south of Gaerwen and northwest of Llanidan. It is named after Caffo, a 6th-century saint. A church, St Caffo's Church, is named after him. A war memorial, a village hall and a primary...
. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church, and has a spire which is a prominent local landmark. The churchyard has part of a stone cross dating from the 9th or 10th century, and some gravestones from the 9th to 11th centuries. It is dedicated to St Caffo, a 6th-century martyr who was killed in the vicinity.
The church is still in use as part of 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 churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II listed building, a designation given to "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them", in particular because it is regarded as "a mid 19th-century rural church, consistently articulated and detailed in an Early English style".
History and location
The date of first construction of a church in LlangaffoLlangaffo
Llangaffo is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales. It lies along the B4419 and B4421 roads, north of Dwyran, south of Gaerwen and northwest of Llanidan. It is named after Caffo, a 6th-century saint. A church, St Caffo's Church, is named after him. A war memorial, a village hall and a primary...
(a village in 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...
about 5 miles (8 km) south 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...
) is uncertain. The village takes its name from the church: the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-gaffo" is a modified form of the saint's name. St Caffo, a 6th-century Christian, was a companion of St Cybi and was martyred by shepherds in the vicinity of what is now Llangaffo, perhaps in revenge for his brother Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
insulting Maelgwn Gwynedd, the local ruler. It is thought that there may have at one point been a monastery in this location, known as "Merthyr Caffo": merthyr is the Welsh word for "martyr", and in place names means a building erected near a saint's grave.
The present building, which is in the north-eastern part of the village on the south-eastern side of the B4419 road, was erected in 1846 alongside the churchyard to a design by the Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
-based architects Weightman and Hadfield. It replaced an older church, which had stood on an adjoining outcrop of rock until it was demolished. It was described by 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...
(writing in 1846, as the new church was being constructed) as a "very small and unimportant edifice"; he also noted that it was the only medieval building remaining in the parish.
The 19th-century church is still in use and belongs to 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 combined 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:...
of Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog (St Michael's Church, Gaerwen) with Llangristiolus
Llangristiolus
Llangristiolus is a village in the middle of Anglesey, Wales, southwest of Llangefni, and is named after Saint Cristiolus. The River Cefni flows through the village...
(St Cristiolus's Church
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...
) with Llanffinan (St Ffinan's Church
St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan
St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan is a small 19th-century parish church built in the Romanesque revival style, in Anglesey, north Wales. There has been a church in this area, even if not on this precise location, since at least 1254, and 19th-century writers state that St Ffinan established the first...
) with Llangaffo. It 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 October 2011, the vicar of the four churches is Emlyn Williams, assisted by a curate (E. R. Roberts). Williams was appointed in 2007; before that, the position had been vacant for 20 years despite many attempts by the Church in Wales to fill it. Services in Welsh are held every Sunday, either Holy Communion or Morning Prayer; there are no midweek services.
Edward Wynn (1618–1669) was rector here from 1658; he later became Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....
, and is buried at the church. James Williams
James Williams (cleric)
-Life:James Williams was the son of John Williams, the rector of Llanddeusant church, St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo, and St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy . John Williams was the younger brother of Thomas Williams, the Welsh copper industrialist...
(1790–1872) was the son of John Williams, rector of St Caffo's. He succeeded his father when he resigned in 1821, and later became Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....
.
Architecture and fittings
St Caffo's is built of 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....
dressed with limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, in an early English style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
(a style of architecture used between about 1180 and 1275, typically using narrow pointed windows and arches). The roof is made of slate. The tower, at the west end, has buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es at the corners and is topped with a broach spire
Broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
, which is a prominent local landmark. Entrance is through an arched doorway in the north side of the tower. 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...
, at the east end of the church, is smaller than 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...
in both height and width; there is 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...
on the north side of the chancel. The nave has lancet windows, and there is a further lancet window on the south side of the chancel. The church's east window is set in a pointed arch and has 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).
Inside the church, the sanctuary at the east end is raised above the chancel by one step; the floor of the sanctuary and the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
behind the altar are made from encaustic tile
Encaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern is inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as...
s. Fittings include a circular decorated 12th-century font and a 17th-century pulpit with carved decorative panels. A 1937 survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire recorded that the church owned a silver cup and 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....
dated 1736. The transept has a number of memorials dating from the 17th century (including one to Edward Wynn), and a stone from the early 7th century inscribed with
..VI / RNIN / FILIUS / CUURIS / CINI / ERE / XIT / HUNC / LAPI / DEM. The stone, which is set in the wall, originally came from Newborough, AngleseyNewborough, Anglesey
Newborough is a village in the south-western corner of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales; it is in the community of Rhosyr, which has a population of 2,169.-History:Newborough was a commotal centre of medieval Anglesey...
. The church porch houses part of a cross head in the shape of a wheel, dating from the 9th or 10th century; part of the rest of the cross is in the churchyard, but it has suffered significant weather damage with most of the patterns worn away.
The oldest graves are to the north of the church, which is unusual: ordinarily the southern part of the churchyard would be used first for burials, with the northern part remaining unconsecrated unless and until extra space for graves was required. The path between the road and the church has sunken, which may partly be explained by the medieval custom of burying the dead on top of each other. One author has suggested that the mound alongside the path might indicate that the church is located in the site of a Bronze Age settlement.
The churchyard has seven gravestones that were discovered in the walls of the previous church. Six of them date from between the 9th and 11th centuries, and the seventh is from the 12th or 13th century. The doorway from the old church, dating from the 15th century, has been reused as an entrance to the churchyard. A carved stone human head, from the 12th century, has been inserted into the north wall of the churchyard. A war memorial in the shape of a Celtic cross remembers those who died during the First and Second World Wars.
Assessment
The church is a Grade II listed building – the lowest of the three grades of listing, designating "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them". It was given this status on 30 January 1968 and 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) states that it has been listed because it is "a mid 19th-century rural church, consistently articulated and detailed in an Early English style."
The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the rebuilt church "forms a very good specimen of the early English style of architecture", adding that it was "effective from its simplicity and the absence of pretension." He added that the interior had been "fitted up in a neat and appropriate manner, and the details throughout appear to have been carefully studied". A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey says that the "impressive" tower and steeple" form "a landmark visible for many miles." It also comments that rendering on part of the tower and the south wall makes them less attractive than the north wall.
A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region notes the "exceptional number of inscribed fragments", showing it to be a place of early Christian worship, but considers that the church is "unlovely". Similarly, a 2005 guide to Wales describes St Caffo's as "an uninspiring nineteenth-century church from the outside" but says that it has "a remarkable collection" of memorial stones.