St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
Church in Wales / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw is a 12th-century parish church in Anglesey, north Wales. A church was established in Aberffraw in the 7th century by St Beuno, who became the abbot of Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd. St Beuno's may have been used as a royal chapel during the early Middle Ages, as the princes of Gwynedd had a court in Aberffraw. The oldest parts of the church date from the 12th century, although it was considerably enlarged in the 16th century when a second nave was built alongside the existing structure, with the wall in between replaced by an arcade of four arches. Restoration work in 1840 uncovered a 12th-century arch in the west wall, which may have been the original chancel arch or a doorway to a western tower that has been lost. The church also has a 13th-century font, some memorials from the 18th century, and two 18th-century copper collecting shovels.
St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw | |
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Location in Anglesey | |
53.190715°N 4.466638°W / 53.190715; -4.466638 | |
OS grid reference | SH 353 688 |
Location | Aberffraw, Anglesey |
Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
Denomination | Church in Wales |
History | |
Status | Church |
Founded | 7th century |
Founder(s) | St Beuno |
Dedication | St Beuno |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Grade II* |
Designated | 5 April 1971 |
Architect(s) | Thomas Jones (1840 restoration) Henry Kennedy (1868 rebuilding) |
Style | Late Decorated |
Specifications | |
Length | 30 ft (9.1 m) (nave) |
Nave width | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Other dimensions | 25 by 16 ft (7.6 by 4.9 m) (chancel) |
Materials | Rubble masonry dressed with sandstone; slate roof |
Administration | |
Province | Province of Wales |
Diocese | Diocese of Bangor |
Archdeaconry | Bangor |
Deanery | Malltraeth |
Parish | Trefdraeth with Aberffraw with Llangadwaladr with Cerrigceinwen |
Clergy | |
Vicar(s) | Vacant[1] |
The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of four in a combined parish. As of 2013, the parish is without an incumbent priest. St Beuno's is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest",[2] in particular because it is a "rare Anglesey example of a double-naved church", with elements including the "unusually fine" 12th-century arch.[3] A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region says that St Beuno's contains "some of the most significant Romanesque work on the island".[4]