St Cadfan's Church, Tywyn

St Cadfan's Church (Tywyn)
St Cadfan's Church
52°35′17″N 4°05′07″W / 52.5880°N 4.0853°W / 52.5880; -4.0853Coordinates: 52°35′17″N 4°05′07″W / 52.5880°N 4.0853°W / 52.5880; -4.0853
Location Tywyn, Gwynedd
Country Wales
Denomination Anglican (Church in Wales)
Previous denomination Catholic Church (ended mid-16th century)
History
Founder(s) Saint Cadfan
Architecture
Architect(s) Medieval masons
Style Romanesque Architecture
Administration
Parish Tywyn
Deanery Ystumaner
Archdeaconry Meirionnydd
Diocese Diocese of Bangor
Province Wales

St Cadfan's Church (Welsh: Eglwys Cadfan) is situated in Tywyn in the county of Gwynedd, formerly Merionethshire, Wales.

The church is noted for its Romanesque architecture and for housing the Cadfan Stone, a stone cross dating from ninth century or earlier which is inscribed with the oldest known written Welsh.

Brut y Tywysogion states that the church was sacked by Vikings in 963, and during the twelfth century it was the subject of a memorable poem by Llywelyn Fardd (I). The earliest parts of the building date to the twelfth century, and it originally had a central tower, although this fell down in 1693.[1]

The church houses two fourteenth-century monuments. One of the effigies is of an unknown priest in full Eucharistic vestments. The other is a military figure thought to be Gruffudd ab Adda (d. c. 1350) of Dôl-goch and Ynysymaengwyn. The effigy is known as the 'Crying Knight' due to a flaw in the stone at his right eye which becomes damp during wet weather, giving the impression of weeping.[2]

The vicarage, which was built in the early 19th century, still stands on National Street. It is now a private house called 'Tŷ Cadfan Sant'.[3] National Street (formerly Duck Street) was named after the National School, later Towyn Church School, which was once located on the street.

References

  1. ↑ Evans, E. D. 1999. A Tywyn brief of 1694. Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society, 13.2, 184–5.
  2. ↑ Davidson, Andrew. 2001. Parish churches. In: Smith, J. Beverley and Llinos ed. History of Merioneth, vol. ii: The Middle Ages, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 369–70.
  3. ↑ Coflein: Tŷ Cadfan Sant.
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