The "Old" St Afran's Church - The medieval church of three saints - Llantrisant

Описание: Tucked away in a field beside the farmstead of Ty-mawr on Anglesey, the Old Church of St Afran, St Ieuan and St Sannan is a small, atmospheric medieval church whose fabric, fittings and monuments tell a surprisingly rich story. It is a Grade II* listed building (listed 5 April 1971) and is held in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches after a long period of neglect and partial collapse in the 20th century. It is near to 53°19′40″N , 004°28′47″W, OS grid SH 349 840, What three words ////waltz.navigate.complains. The postal code is LL65 4AN.

Parking can be found here 53°19'49.1"N 4°28'43.6"W on the road between Llantrisant and Llanddeusant

The site is ancient — the parish name literally means “the church of three saints” (Afran, Ieuan and Sannan) — and the present building contains medieval fabric (the main plan in its present form dates from the medieval period, with a south chapel added later). The old parish church fell out of regular use when a Victorian “new” church was built nearby in 1899; by the mid-20th century the old roof had collapsed, but the building was stabilised and restored in the 1970s (restoration work undertaken c.1976–77) and reroofed earlier in the 1960s under government guardianship before the Friends of Friendless Churches took it on (Their first on Anglesey).

It sits well off the lane and is reached on foot across fields, which contributes to its remote, rural character.

The plan is simple: a continuous nave and chancel with an L-shaped/south chapel (C17th Century). The small stone building has a gabled bellcote at the west end, a round-headed south doorway and modest medieval windows. Inside the floor is largely stone slabs; many of the fittings — box pews and benches — are 18th-century in appearance and the simple altar is a slate slab on piers. The church contains an old circular font (12th or early 13th century) — this font is not original to the building but was brought in from the medieval church at Grove in Buckinghamshire when that church was converted in the later 20th century.

For such a tiny, remote rural church the interior contains unexpectedly grand funerary art. There are two highly sophisticated Baroque monuments dated 1669 and 1670; the most elaborate is a Baroque marble memorial that commemorates John Wynn of Bodewrid (d. 1669) and was erected by Robert Wynn, then rector of the parish — the Wynn family of Bodewryd were important local gentry and are connected with other churches and memorials on Anglesey. These mid-17th-century monuments are often singled out in descriptions of the church as “surprising” and “out of scale” for the otherwise rustic interior, and they are a key reason the building is noted by historians and conservation bodies.

The churchyard contains the usual cluster of historic slate and stone graves of local families; the Wynn family burials and memorial notices are among those of local note.

References;
Wikipedia
Anglesey History
Friends of Friendless Churches
Thank you to Google Earth for the zoom in map.

00:00 - Introduction
01:03 - Map
01:14 - Main video