St Peter's Church | |
---|---|
Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
Denomination | Church in Wales |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade II* |
Designated | 30 January 1968 |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Medieval |
St Peter's Church is a medieval church situated on the western side of the village of Newborough, Anglesey, Wales. The building dates from the early 14th century and underwent restorations in the 19th century. It was designated a Grade II*-listed building on 30 January 1968. It has an interesting history and is the longest church on Anglesey.
St Peter's was originally known as Llananno. Some people [1] believe that it was founded in about 500 AD by a noble couple, Amon of Dyfed and his wife Anna of Gwynedd. They were the parents of Saint Sampson, the abbot and patron saint of Caldey Island in Pembrokeshire. Others say the church was dedicated to Saint Amo, sharing its dedication with St Anno's Church, Llananno in Radnorshire. Whatever the facts of the matter, the church is situated beside Llys Rhosyr, the Anglesey residence of the Princes of Gwynedd, and is likely to have been associated with the royal court. [2]
The church walls are covered entirely with roughcast, which has hidden or destroyed evidence of the various building periods.
It is thought that the chancel was built first, serving as a royal chapel, and dedicated to St Mary. A separate chapel was built end to end with it and dedicated to St Peter. Later these two buildings were united into one long building, the longest church in Anglesey. There are differences in roof height, roof structure and stonework between the two parts. [2]
The oldest parts of the church are the eastern side of the chancel and nave, which date from the early 14th century. The nave was extended to the west in either the late 15th or early 16th century. The structure was restored in 1850 and again in 1886. It was granted Grade II*-listed status on 30 January 1968, being considered to be a good example of a restored late medieval church.
According to the Rev J Iorwerth Parry, [3] the rector from 1942-75, the gritstone font dates to 1150 and is among the earliest in Wales. The rim of the font is chamfered and the surface is decorated with three rectangular carved panels containing 1) a crude interlaced cross with Stafford knots at the terminations; 2) two vertical rows of incised and interlaced loop work, and 3) a Maltese cross formed of triangular knotwork with a central ring, apparently unfinished. A fourth panel is blank.
According to Parry, the incisions on the stonework of the inner doorway "were probably made by archers sharpening their arrows while practising in the churchyard", and the worn stone benches beneath the present wooden seats would be similar to the only seating available at one time, and probably reserved for the "elderly and decrepit". [4]
As of 1975, there were two bells, one brought from Llanddwyn church when it closed in the late 1500s and the second from 1690. Both bells, which weigh 52kg each, were recast in 1892 in Whitechapel, London.
There are gravestones in arches in the north and south wall of the chancel that are 14th century. One is a tapered stone with a floriated cross at the head and a running leaf pattern. The second has an effigy in high relief of a priest in mass vestments. Both have Latin inscriptions.
Newborough is a village in the southern corner of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. It is a part of the Bro Aberffraw electoral ward; to the northwest is Aberffraw, and to the northeast is Llanfairpwll. There is a church in the village, a primary school, and a public institute. Nearby is the Newborough Warren, a forest, beach, and public nature reserve.
Llys Rhosyr, also known as "Cae Llys", is an archaeological site near Newborough in Anglesey; the ruins of a pre-Edwardian commotal court.
St Beuno's Church, Penmorfa, is a redundant church near the settlement of Penmorfa, some 2 miles (3 km) to the northwest of Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a redundant Anglican 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. The church has a font of early date, possibly from the first half of the 11th century: one historian has said that it would initially have been used as an altar and that "as an altar of the pre-Norman period it is a unique survivor in Wales and, indeed, in Britain".
St Cristiolus's Church, Llangristiolus is a medieval church near the village of Llangristiolus, in Anglesey, north Wales. The village, about 1 mile (1.6 km) 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. Alterations were made in the 16th century, when the large east window in Perpendicular style was added to the chancel – a window which has been described by one guide to the buildings of north Wales as "almost too big to fit" in the wall. Some restoration work took place in the mid-19th century, when further windows were added and the chancel largely rebuilt.
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.
St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, in Wales. A church is said to have been founded here by St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. The church was extended in the 14th century, with further changes over the coming years. It contains a 12th-century font and a 14th-century memorial stone to Iestyn, from the same workshop as the stone to St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo.
St Mary's Church, Pentraeth is a small medieval parish church in the village of Pentraeth, in Anglesey, north Wales. The date of construction is unknown, but is probably from some time between the 12th to 14th centuries. A church dedicated to St Mary was recorded here in 1254, but there is a tradition that there was an older church dedicated to St Geraint, an early British saint. Some medieval stonework remains in three walls of the building. A chapel was added to the south side in the 16th or 17th century. The church was altered and refurbished during the 19th century, including an extensive rebuilding by Henry Kennedy, the architect for the Diocese of Bangor, in 1882. St Mary's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, and is one of three churches in a combined parish. Its conservation is specifically included in the aims of a Chester-based charity that promotes health and the arts in Anglesey and the north-west of England.
St Caian's Church, Tregaian, also known as St Caean's Church, Tregaean, is a small medieval church dating from the 14th century in Anglesey, north Wales. It is dedicated to St Caian, a Christian from the 5th or 6th century about whom little is known. The building contains a late 14th-century east window and a late 15th-century doorway. The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died in 1581 at the age of 105, leaving over forty children between the ages of 8 and 89 and over three hundred living descendants.
St Beuno's Church, Trefdraeth is the medieval parish church of Trefdraeth, a hamlet in Anglesey, north Wales. Although one 19th-century historian recorded that the first church on this location was reportedly established in about 616, no part of any 7th-century structure survives; the oldest parts of the present building date are from the 13th century. Alterations were made in subsequent centuries, but few of them during the 19th century, a time when many other churches in Anglesey were rebuilt or were restored.
St Nidan's Church, Llanidan is a 19th-century parish church near the village of Brynsiencyn, in Anglesey, north Wales. Built between 1839 and 1843, it replaced the Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan, which needed significant repair, providing a place of Anglican worship nearer to the village than the old church. Some items were moved here from the old church, including the 13th-century font, two bells from the 14th and 15th century, and a reliquary thought to hold the remains of St Nidan. The tower at the west end has been described as "top heavy" and looking like "a water tower".
The Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan is a medieval church in the community of Llanidan, in Anglesey, North Wales, close to the Menai Strait. The first church on the site was established in the 7th century by St Nidan, the confessor of the monastery at Penmon, Anglesey, but the oldest parts of the present structure, now closed and partly ruined, date from the 14th century. In about 1500 the church was enlarged by the addition of a second nave on the north side, separated from the earlier nave by an arcade of six arches. During 1839 till 1843 a new church was built nearby to serve the local community, partly due to the cost of repairing the old church. Much of the building was subsequently demolished, leaving only part of the western end and the central arcade. The decision was condemned at the time by Harry Longueville Jones, a clergyman and antiquarian, who lamented the "melancholy fate" of what he called "one of the largest and most important [churches] in the island of Anglesey". Other appreciative comments have been made about the church both before and after its partial demolition.
St Eugrad's Church, Llaneugrad is an isolated church near the village of Marian-glas, in Anglesey, north Wales. A church was supposedly founded here by St Eugrad in about 605, although the earliest parts of the present structure are the nave, chancel and chancel arch, which date from the 12th century. A side chapel was added to the north in the 16th century, and some moderate restoration work was carried out in the 19th century. It contains a 12th-century font, a 13th-century carved stone depicting the crucifixion, and a memorial to one of the officers killed when the Royal Charter sank off Anglesey in 1859.
St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy is a medieval parish church in the north-west of Anglesey, north Wales. The date of foundation of the church, which is in the village of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy, is unknown, but the oldest parts date from the 11th or 12th century. It has twice been enlarged: in the 15th century, when the chancel was rebuilt, and in the 16th century, when a chapel was added to the south of the chancel, separated by three arches. The tower at the west end is from the 17th century. A south porch of unknown date has been converted into a vestry, and the church is now entered through the tower.
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.
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen, is a 19th-century parish church near the Menai Strait, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church was founded here by St. Edwen in 640, but the present structure dates from 1856 and was designed by Henry Kennedy, the architect of the Diocese of Bangor. It contains some memorials from the 17th and 18th centuries and a reading desk that reuses panel work from the 14th and 17th centuries. The 18th-century historian Henry Rowlands was vicar here, and is buried in the churchyard. The church is on land that forms part of the Plas Newydd estate, home of the family of the Marquess of Anglesey since 1812 and owned by the National Trust. Some of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and some of their employees, are also buried in the churchyard.
St Ceinwen's Church, Cerrigceinwen, is a former parish church in the countryside of central Anglesey, north Wales. The present building dates from 1860, although the site has been used for worship since at least the 7th century. The doorway reuses some old carved gravestones, one from the 9th to 11th centuries, and another from the 12th century. The church grounds contain a well, once thought to have healing properties. The church and the well are both named after St Ceinwen, an early Celtic female saint.
St Peter's Church, Llanbedrgoch, is a small medieval parish church near the village of Llanbedrgoch in Anglesey, north Wales. The oldest parts of the building date from the 15th century; it was extended in the 17th century and restored twice in the 19th century. The doorway is decorated with carvings of two human heads, one wearing a mitre. The church contains a reading desk made from 15th-century bench ends, one carved with a mermaid holding a mirror and comb.
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)
St Cadwaladr's Church is a Grade I listed church in Llangadwaladr, Anglesey. The location of the current church was established in the 7th century by the Kings of Gwynedd, after whom the church is named, King Cadwaladr. The Church standing today was built in the 'T' shape perpendicular style. The nave is dated to the 12th to early 13th century and the chancel to the 14th. Later the chapels were built, the north in 1640 and the southern Bodowen Chapel in 1661. Then, during 1856 the church underwent restoration, at which time to south porch was added.