| Eglwys Cwyfan | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Medieval |
Eglwys Cwyfan (St Cwyfan's Church) is a Grade II*-listed medieval church in Llangadwaladr, Anglesey, Wales. Located on the small tidal island of Cribinau. The church dates from the 12th century, with some renovations made in the 19th century.
Dating from the 12th century, [1] Eglwys Cwyfan is dedicated to Saint Kevin, who founded the monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland. [2] The church originally stood at the end of a peninsula between two bays, Porth Cwyfan and Porth China. In later years the sea slowly eroded around the coast in the two bays, therefore the peninsula was cut off, turning Cribinau into a small tidal island. As a consequence, a causeway was built to the island to allow the local population to get to the church. [2]
In 1766 the Bishop of Bangor appointed Thomas Bowles as the parish priest of Trefdraeth, which included St Cwyfan's Church. Bowles spoke no Welsh, and only five of the 500 church-goers understood English. As a result, they protested against his appointment and the case was heard in an ecclesiastical court in 1773. The judge ruled that Welsh-speaking priests should be sent to primarily Welsh-speaking parishes. [2]
The waves continued to erode Cribinau until the late 19th century, when some of the graves surrounding the church began to fall into the sea. During this time the church fell into disrepair; the walls became disused and roofless, and the church was consequently replaced by a new building further inland in Llangwyfan. However, in 1893 a local architect, Harold Hughes, raised money to save the church by constructing a seawall around the Cribinau, and for the restoration of the building. [2] [1]
The church remains in use and is popular for weddings and baptisms.
By 1766 St Cwyfan, Llangwyfan was a chapelry of the parish of St Beuno, Trefdraeth. [3] In that year John Egerton, Bishop of Bangor, appointed an elderly English priest, Dr Thomas Bowles, to the parish and chapelry. [3] [4] Between them the parish and chapelry had about 500 parishioners, of whom all but five spoke only Welsh, whereas Bowles spoke only English. [3] [4]
The parishioners and churchwardens of Trefdraeth petitioned against Bowles's appointment, with the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion supporting and helping to fund their case. [3] [4] The Court of Arches heard evidence in the case in May 1770 but did not hear the prosecution and defence arguments until January 1773. [3] [4]
The prosecution argued that Bowles's inability to minister in Welsh contravened Article XXV of the Articles of Religion, the Act for the Translation of the Scriptures into Welsh 1563 and the Act of Uniformity 1662. [3] The defence argued that the prosecution would have to prove that Bowles was totally incapable of speaking any Welsh at all, and even if they did so Bowles had lawfully been granted the ecclesiastical freehold and therefore could not be deprived of it. [3]
The case was judged by the Dean of the Arches, George Hay. [3] In January 1773 he ruled that only clergy who could speak Welsh should be appointed to Welsh-speaking parishes, and Bowles should not have been appointed, but he now held the ecclesiastical freehold of the benefice and the case to deprive him of it had not been proved. [3] He therefore let Bowles stay in post, which he did until he died in November of that year. [3] Bowles was then replaced in the parish and chapelry with Richard Griffith, a priest who spoke Welsh. [3]
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural, literary and philanthropic institution. It fell into abeyance between 1787 and 1820, and again between 1843 and 1873. In its second and third incarnations its interests have been predominantly cultural and antiquarian. The present society claims continuity from that founded in 1751, although the three successive societies have in fact been slightly different in character and aims.
Cribinau is a small tidal island off the south west coast of the isle of Anglesey in Wales between Porth China and Porth Cwyfan. The island is in Aberffraw Community, about 1+1⁄4 miles west of Aberffraw village.
Thomas Bowles was a Church of England priest. He is notable for a controversy in which he was appointed to two parishes in Wales where hardly any parishioners spoke English, despite the fact that Bowles spoke no Welsh.
John Egerton was a Church of England clergyman from the Egerton family who eventually rose to be Bishop of Durham. As a young man he was associated with the beginning of tourism down the River Wye and later with the controversial appointment of an English monoglot to a Welsh-speaking parish in Anglesey.
Religion in Wales has, over the years, become increasingly diverse. Christianity was the religion of virtually all of the Welsh population until the late 20th century, but it has rapidly declined throughout the early 21st century. Today a plurality (46.5%) of people in Wales follow no religion at all.
John Pryce was a Welsh clergyman and writer on church history, who became Dean of Bangor Cathedral.
David Walter Thomas was a Welsh clergyman who was instrumental in the founding of a Welsh church in the Welsh settlement in Argentina.
Representing 43.6% of the Welsh population in 2021, Christianity is the largest religion in Wales. Wales has a strong tradition of nonconformism, particularly Methodism. From 1534 until 1920 the established church was the Church of England, but this was disestablished in Wales in 1920, becoming the still Anglican but self-governing Church in Wales.
Robert Morgan was a Welsh Bishop of Bangor.
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.
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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".
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