St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn is a medieval church near Aberffraw
in Anglesey
, north Wales. It was originally a chapel of ease
for the parish church
of St Peulan's, Llanbeulan
, but the township that it once served, Tal-y-llyn
, no longer exists. It was declared a redundant church
in the early 1990s, and has been in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches
since 1999. Services are held once per month during part of the year.
The date of the church is unknown, but the oldest parts could be from the 12th century. The chancel
was rebuilt in the 16th century, and a side chapel added in the 17th century. The church furnishings, such as pews, pulpit and communion rails, were added in the 18th century, although some of the pews are modern replacements after vandalism. It is a Grade I listed building, a national designation given to buildings of "exceptional, usually national, interest", because it is "a very rare example of a virtually unrestored Medieval church of simple, rustic character."
and about 3.75 kilometres (2.3 mi) southwest of Gwalchmai
. It stands on a low mound with a circumference of approximately 120 yards (109.7 m); the wall around the churchyard, which contains no gravestones, follows the shape of the mound to some extent. Its original purpose was to serve as one of five chapels of ease
for the local parish church
, St Peulan's, Llanbeulan
, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north; St Peulan's itself has now closed. The township that St Mary's served, Tal-y-llyn
, has now disappeared, although before the time of the Black Death
there were 22 houses here.
The date of foundation of the church is unknown. The nave
is the oldest part of the church, possibly built in the 12th century. Later changes saw the rebuilding of the chancel
(in the late 16th century) and the addition of a chapel on the south side of the building (in the 17th century). It was used for services until the early 1990s, and was then made a redundant church
in about 1992. It was placed in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches
in 1999, who hold a 999 year lease
effective from 19 November 1999. Services are held in the church on one Sunday afternoon per month between May and October.
with boulder quoins. The floor is laid with flagstone
s throughout, and the roof has modern slate
s. The nave measures 25 by, the chancel measures 16 feet 6 inches by 11 feet (5.03 by 3.47 m), and the chapel adjoining the chancel on the south side is 9 by. Between the nave and chancel is a pointed arch, with some 13th-century elements but probably reconstructed in the 16th century. The side chapel has rectangular windows in the east and west walls from the 17th century; a narrow stone bench runs along the west and south walls of the chapel. The roof truss
es, which date from the 15th and 17th centuries, are visible inside the building and the undersides are chamfer
ed. There are two rectangular windows in the north wall of the nave (20th century additions), matching the window in the north wall of the chancel. The east window, in the chancel, has three rounded lights set in a square frame; it dates from the latter part of the 16th century. The windows still have their clear leaded glass but are now boarded up. There are no windows on the south side, which is the most exposed side. There is an empty bellcote on the roof at the west end of the nave. The entrance is also at the west end, where there is a rounded arch doorway set deep into the thick wall, possibly dating from the 14th century.
The 12th-century font was removed when the church was made redundant; it is now in the nearby church of St Maelog, Llanfaelog. The church now houses a 15th-century octagonal font made of gritstone
, positioned on an octagonal stem. The communion rails are dated 1764 and is of a simple design; the pulpit, also 18th-century, has recessed panels.
There are stone benches along the north and south walls of the nave. Many of the pews, which dated from the 18th century, were vandalised or stolen after the church was made redundant. Replacements were made by a local craftsman as part of the restoration project carried out in 1999 and 2000 by the Friends of Friendless Churches.
(the Welsh Assembly Government
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also note as a reason for listing "the retention of a complete set of 18th century fittings, including simple benches", although this comment predates the 1990s vandalism. One modern guide to the buildings of the region comments that it has "the vernacular character of Anglesey's country buildings, which survives scarcely at all in the churches." The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis, however, took a different view of the building, calling it "a small edifice of no interest".
Aberffraw
Aberffraw is a small village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey , in Wales, by the west bank of the River Ffraw, at . The UK postcode begins LL63. Access by road is by way of the A4080 and the nearest rail station is Bodorgan. In the early Middle Ages Aberffraw was the...
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...
, north Wales. It was originally a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
for the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St Peulan's, Llanbeulan
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a disused medieval 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...
, but the township that it once served, Tal-y-llyn
Tal-y-llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-llyn is the name of a former township on the island of Anglesey, north-west Wales. It was located about to the northeast of Aberffraw. In 1306, when a survey was carried out of the lands held by the Bishop of Bangor, Tal-y-llyn was recorded as having three free tenants, who together had...
, no longer exists. It was declared a redundant church
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
in the early 1990s, and has been in the care of 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...
since 1999. Services are held once per month during part of the year.
The date of the church is unknown, but the oldest parts could be from the 12th century. 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...
was rebuilt in the 16th century, and a side chapel added in the 17th century. The church furnishings, such as pews, pulpit and communion rails, were added in the 18th century, although some of the pews are modern replacements after vandalism. It is a Grade I listed building, a national designation given to buildings of "exceptional, usually national, interest", because it is "a very rare example of a virtually unrestored Medieval church of simple, rustic character."
History and location
St Mary's Church is in a rural and thinly populated part of Anglesey, about 4.25 kilometres (2.6 mi) northeast of AberffrawAberffraw
Aberffraw is a small village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey , in Wales, by the west bank of the River Ffraw, at . The UK postcode begins LL63. Access by road is by way of the A4080 and the nearest rail station is Bodorgan. In the early Middle Ages Aberffraw was the...
and about 3.75 kilometres (2.3 mi) southwest of Gwalchmai
Gwalchmai, Anglesey
Gwalchmai is a village on Anglesey in north Wales.- Location :Gwalchmai is less than a mile from the A55 and the Anglesey Show Ground and less than two miles from RAF Mona.- Amenities and history :...
. It stands on a low mound with a circumference of approximately 120 yards (109.7 m); the wall around the churchyard, which contains no gravestones, follows the shape of the mound to some extent. Its original purpose was to serve as one of five chapels of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
for the local parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, St Peulan's, Llanbeulan
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a disused medieval 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...
, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north; St Peulan's itself has now closed. The township that St Mary's served, Tal-y-llyn
Tal-y-llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-llyn is the name of a former township on the island of Anglesey, north-west Wales. It was located about to the northeast of Aberffraw. In 1306, when a survey was carried out of the lands held by the Bishop of Bangor, Tal-y-llyn was recorded as having three free tenants, who together had...
, has now disappeared, although before the time of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
there were 22 houses here.
The date of foundation of the church is unknown. 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...
is the oldest part of the church, possibly built in the 12th century. Later changes saw the rebuilding of 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...
(in the late 16th century) and the addition of a chapel on the south side of the building (in the 17th century). It was used for services until the early 1990s, and was then made a redundant church
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
in about 1992. It was placed in the care of 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...
in 1999, who hold a 999 year lease
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
effective from 19 November 1999. Services are held in the church on one Sunday afternoon per month between May and October.
Architecture and fittings
The church was constructed using 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....
with boulder quoins. The floor is laid with flagstone
Flagstone
Flagstone, is a generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other constructions. The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.Flagstone is a...
s throughout, and the roof has modern slate
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. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s. The nave measures 25 by, the chancel measures 16 feet 6 inches by 11 feet (5.03 by 3.47 m), and the chapel adjoining the chancel on the south side is 9 by. Between the nave and chancel is a pointed arch, with some 13th-century elements but probably reconstructed in the 16th century. The side chapel has rectangular windows in the east and west walls from the 17th century; a narrow stone bench runs along the west and south walls of the chapel. The roof truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es, which date from the 15th and 17th centuries, are visible inside the building and the undersides are chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed. There are two rectangular windows in the north wall of the nave (20th century additions), matching the window in the north wall of the chancel. The east window, in the chancel, has three rounded lights set in a square frame; it dates from the latter part of the 16th century. The windows still have their clear leaded glass but are now boarded up. There are no windows on the south side, which is the most exposed side. There is an empty bellcote on the roof at the west end of the nave. The entrance is also at the west end, where there is a rounded arch doorway set deep into the thick wall, possibly dating from the 14th century.
The 12th-century font was removed when the church was made redundant; it is now in the nearby church of St Maelog, Llanfaelog. The church now houses a 15th-century octagonal font made of gritstone
Gritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
, positioned on an octagonal stem. The communion rails are dated 1764 and is of a simple design; the pulpit, also 18th-century, has recessed panels.
There are stone benches along the north and south walls of the nave. Many of the pews, which dated from the 18th century, were vandalised or stolen after the church was made redundant. Replacements were made by a local craftsman as part of the restoration project carried out in 1999 and 2000 by the Friends of Friendless Churches.
Assessment
St Mary's has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade I listed building – the highest grade of listing, designating buildings of "exceptional, usually national, interest". Fewer than 2% of the listed buildings in Wales are in this category. It was given this status on 5 April 1971, because it is "a very rare example of a virtually unrestored Medieval church of simple, rustic character." 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 note as a reason for listing "the retention of a complete set of 18th century fittings, including simple benches", although this comment predates the 1990s vandalism. One modern guide to the buildings of the region comments that it has "the vernacular character of Anglesey's country buildings, which survives scarcely at all in the churches." The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis, however, took a different view of the building, calling it "a small edifice of no interest".