St Peter ad Vincula

About

The parish church of St Peter ad Vincula (meaning Saint Peter in Chains) in the village of Pennal in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, is notable as the site of the last senate meeting held by the Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr. It was founded in the 6th century by Saints Tanwg and Eithrias, who were missionaries from Brittany, and is the only church in Wales with this dedication. It is now part of the benefice of Bro Ystumanner in the diocese of Bangor.

It is thought that the church was so named by Glyndŵr in competition with the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London, one of the chapels royal of his rival, King Henry IV of England. Pennal was regarded with honour because of its status as one of the 21 llysoedd, the courts of the native Welsh Princes of Gwynedd. A copy of Glyndŵr's "Pennal Letter" of 1406, a letter to King Charles VI of France, setting out his plans for an independent Wales, originated from Pennal.

While the original letter remains in the Archives Nationales in Paris, a copy is displayed at the Parliament House in Machynlleth, and at the National Library of Wales. The letter was briefly returned to Wales from France for an exhibition at the National Library of...