St Cybi's Church

Last updated

St Cybi's Church
St Cybi's Church Holyhead 2004.jpg
The south face view of the church
Isle of Anglesey UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
St Cybi's Church
Location in Anglesey
53°18′42″N4°37′58″W / 53.3118°N 4.6328°W / 53.3118; -4.6328
OS grid reference SH 366 728
Location Caer Gybi, Anglesey
CountryWales, United Kingdom
Denomination Church in Wales
History
Founded13th century
Architecture
Heritage designation Grade I
Architectural type Church
Style Medieval

St Cybi's Church is a medieval church near the Roman Caer Gybi in Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales. The church was Grade I listed in January 1968. The original church was constructed at Holyhead around 540 AD by St Cybi, a cousin of St David. The church was sacked by Viking invaders in the 10th century and damaged again in 1405 by Henry IV's invading force. The present church was built in the 13th century and stands near the Roman fort in Holyhead.

Contents

History

The original church on an early Christian monastic settlement was established at Holyhead around 540 AD by St Cybi, a cousin of St David. Cybi chose to build his monastery within the walls of a ruined Roman fort. In the 10th century the original church was sacked by Viking raiders. In 1405, it was damaged by Henry IV's troops, who invaded Anglesey from Ireland as part of Henry's efforts to put down Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion. [1]

The present church of St Cybi's was built in between the 13th to 16th centuries and stands near the walls of the Roman Caer Gybi. The chancel is one of the oldest parts of the church, dating to the 13th century. In 1897 a chapel designed by British architect Hamo Thornycroft was added to the south. Further renovations were undertaken in the 20th century. A sun dial with the inscription "Yr hoedl ar hyd ei haros a dderfydd yn nydd ac yn nos", which translates to "Life though long it stay will end in night and day", is located on the south transept. Ornamental figures are located throughout the church, both inside and out. [1] [2]

At the beginning of 2024, St Cybi's Church has undergone controversial renovations funded by the Anglesey County Council and Holyhead Town Council, from it's a 2.2 million pound levelling up fund awarded to Holyhead town with the aim to modernise the place and better adapt international tourism.

The locals raised their concerns for reported plans for commercial additions which would theoretically rip St Cybi's Church of its historic heritage of planned items like a shop and kitchen, and proposed changes to the exterior including the removal of walls and railings and adding [Solar Panels]] to the roof

Furthermore, there has been reports that they've donated their Organ to another church and are replacing historic benches with plastic chairs.

Critics argue that these alteration have compromised the historical integrity of the church, which is a significant tourist attraction in the area.

As of 20th March, 2024 St Cybi's Church cannot be accessed via the public and no funerals, weddings or any other events take place. The opening date for St Cybi's Church is unknown although it is rumoured to be open for tourists in the [[Summer Of 2024]]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caernarfon</span> Town in Gwynedd, Wales

Caernarfon is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852. It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the island of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) to the north-east, while Snowdonia (Eryri) fringes Caernarfon to the east and south-east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caer</span> Placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel".

Caer is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (-ceaster) now variously written as -caster, -cester, and -chester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holyhead</span> Port town in Isle of Anglesey, Wales

Holyhead is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census.. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is separated from Anglesey island by the narrow Cymyran Strait and was originally connected to Anglesey via the Four Mile Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Island, Anglesey</span> Island, part of Wales, United Kingdom

Holy Island is an island on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, Wales, from which it is separated by the Cymyran Strait. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers, and other religious sites on the small island. The alternative English name of the island is Holyhead Island. According to the 2011 UK Census, the population was 13,659, of whom 11,431 (84%) lived in the largest town, Holyhead.

Salomon was a late 5th century Cornish 'warrior prince', possibly a King of Cornwall. His feast day takes place on the 18 October. He was the father of the Cornish bishop Saint Cybi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holyhead Mountain</span> Mountain on Holy island, Wales

Holyhead Mountain is the highest point on Holy Island, Anglesey, and in the county of Anglesey, north Wales. It lies about two miles west of the town of Holyhead, and slopes steeply down to the Irish Sea on two sides. Ireland can be seen from here on a clear day and the cliffs below are an important site for seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seiriol</span>

Seiriol was an early 6th-century saint, who created a cell at Penmon Priory on Anglesey, off the coast of north Wales. He later moved to Ynys Seiriol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybi</span> English Roman Catholic saint

Saint Cybi (Welsh), or Cuby (Cornish), was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint, and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caer Gybi (fort)</span> Roman fortlet remains in Anglesey, Wales

Caer Gybi was a small fortlet in Roman Wales in the Roman province of Britannia Superior. Its name in Latin is unknown. Today it stands at the centre of Holyhead in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Holyhead is named Caergybi in Welsh, after the fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglesey</span> Island county in Wales

The Isle of Anglesey is a county off the north-west coast of Wales. It is named after the island of Anglesey, which makes up 94% of its area, but also includes Holy Island and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni. The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caer y Twr</span> Hillfort in Anglesey, Wales

Caer y Twr is an Iron Age hillfort atop the summit of the Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman conquest of Anglesey</span> Two Roman invasions of Anglesey during the mid 1st century

The Roman conquest of Anglesey refers to two separate invasions of Anglesey in North West Wales that occurred during the early decades of the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century CE. The first invasion of North Wales began after the Romans had subjugated much of southern Britain. It was led by the Provincial governor of Britannia, Suetonius Paulinus, who led a successful assault on the island in 60–61 CE, but had to withdraw because of the Boudican revolt. In 77 CE, Gnaeus Julius Agricola's thorough subjugation of the island left it under Roman rule until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century CE. The invasions occurred because Anglesey, which was recorded in Latin as Mona was a place of resistance to Roman rule because it was an important centre for the Celtic Druids and their religious practices.

Caffo was a sixth-century Christian in Anglesey, north Wales, who is venerated as a saint and martyr. The son of a king from northern Britain who took shelter in Anglesey, Caffo was a companion of St Cybi, and is mentioned as carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes to Cybi without his clothes getting burnt. After leaving Cybi, Caffo was killed by shepherds in the south of Anglesey, possibly acting in retaliation for insults Caffo's brother had paid to the local ruler. The area where he died has a village, Llangaffo, named after him, as well as the parish church of St Caffo, Llangaffo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd</span> Church in Wales

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd is a small medieval parish church near the village of Dwyran, in Anglesey, north Wales. The building probably dates from the 15th century, with some alterations. It contains a 12th-century carved stone font and a 13th-century decorated coffin lid. The bell is inscribed with the year of its casting, 1582. The historian Henry Rowlands was vicar of St Mary's in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maurice Wilks, who invented the Land Rover, is buried in the churchyard.

A clas was a native Christian church in early medieval Wales. Unlike later Norman monasteries, which were made up of a main religious building supported by several smaller buildings, such as cloisters and kitchens, a clas was normally a single building. The building was run by a community of clergy and headed by an abod. Clasau were autonomous and were administered locally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Enghenedl's Church, Llanynghenedl</span> Church in Wales

St Enghenedl's Church, Llanynghenedl, is a former parish church in Anglesey, north Wales, dedicated to the son of a 6th-century King of Powys. According to the 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd, the first church in Llanynghenedl was erected in about 620. A new church was erected in 1862, replacing a building that the 19th-century clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones noted as dating in part from the late 13th or early 14th century, based on the decorations on the south doorway. The church later fell into disuse as a result of the growth of the nearby village of Valley and the church there. In 1988, St Enghenedl's was dismantled and re-erected as an extension to St Mihangel's, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn, so that St Mihangel's could serve as the church for RAF Valley. The former churchyard of St Enghenedl's is still visible but is now overgrown.(The churchyard is being cared for and no longer overgrown 2020 update)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eglwys y Bedd</span> Church in Wales

Eglwys y Bedd is all that remains of a 14th-century church in Anglesey, north Wales. It is set within the churchyard of St Cybi's, Holyhead, and may have been built on the site where Cybi lived and ministered. It is reputed to house the grave of Seregri, an Irish warrior who lived in the area in the 5th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyngar of Llangefni</span>

Saint Cyngar was a 5th-century Welsh Saint. He is the Patron Saint of Llangefni, Anglesey, in Wales, and a founding member of St. Cybi's Monastery at Holyhead, Anglesey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-Neubwll</span> Former church in Anglesey, Wales

St Mary's Church was a Church in Wales parish church in Llanfair-yn-Neubwll, Anglesey, Wales. The current building was constructed in the 14th century, possibly on the site of a 12th-century church. It was restored in 1857. The church was deconsecrated in the 1970s and is a Grade II-listed building.

Mybbard and Mancus were two Cornish saints of the 6th century.

References

  1. 1 2 "Holyhead, St Cybi church". Britain Express. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. "St Cybi's Church in Holyhead history". Holyhead Online. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to St Cybi's Church, Holyhead at Wikimedia Commons