St Mary's Church

About

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 is a Grade I listed building, a national designation given to buildings of "exceptional, usually national, interest", in particular because it is regarded as "a fine rural parish church, incorporating significant early Medieval fabric".

Writers in the 19th century commented on the "lofty square tower", the "very good" east window, and the "many elegant monuments"; the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones called St Mary's "one of the best specimens of an old parish church in the island". In the 21st century, one writer has noted the "impressive lychgate...