St Cynhafal's Church, Llangynhafal

St Cynhafal's Church is a small, isolated church east of the scattered village of Llangynhafal in Denbighshire, Wales. Its only immediate neighbour is the former rectory, Plas-yn-llan, birthplace of the Rev. Robert Jones, friend of William Wordsworth and where Wordsworth stayed in the 1790s. The church is dedicated to Saint Cynhafal, a 7th-century monk, and is the only such dedication in the United Kingdom. Although with earlier origins, the present church dates to the 13th century, and was largely rebuilt in the 15th. It remains an active church in the Diocese of St Asaph and is a Grade I listed building.

St Cynhafal's Church, Llangynhafal
Double nave and bellcote
St Cynhafal's Church, Llangynhafal Location in Denbighshire
OS grid reference	SJ 133 634
Location	Llangynhafal, Ruthin, Denbighshire
Country	Wales
Denomination	Church in Wales
History
Dedication	Saint Cynhafal
Associated people	Reverend J S Evans (Priest in charge)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	19 July 1966
Architectural type	Church
Groundbreaking	13th century with earlier origins/later additions
Specifications
Materials	Body of church: rubble Roof: slate
Administration
Diocese	St Asaph
Archdeaconry	St Asaph
Deanery	Dyffryn Clwyd
Parish	Mission Area of Dyffryn Clwyd

History

The Church of St Cynhafal stands in an isloated position to the east of the scattered village of Llangynhafal, five miles south-east of Denbigh. It is dedicated to Saint Cynhafal, a 7th-century monk, and is the only such dedication in Britain. Cadw suggests that the dedication references the site of a monastic cell. The current church dates from the 15th century. In the late 18th century the adjacent house, Plas-yn-llan, was the rectory and the Rev. Robert Jones (1769–1835) was born there. He was a close friend of William Wordsworth who stayed at Plas-yn-llan between 1791 and 1793. The church was restored in the mid-19th century at a cost of £1400.

St Cynhafal's was remains an active parish church in the Diocese of St Asaph and occasional services are held.

Architecture

The church is built to a double-nave plan, with a south porch and a bellcote. The architectural historian Edward Hubbard, in his 2003 Clwyd volume of the Pevsner Buildings of Wales, notes that the church was whitewashed in the 19th century and rendered in the 20th. The building materials are limestone and Welsh slate for the roof. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) records the carved reredos, with an effigy of a pelican. Hubbard notes the traditional 17th century dating for this, but suggests a possible later date. St Cynhafal's is a Grade I listed building.

Gallery

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  The interior
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  The roof
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  Pelican in piety

Sources

• Hubbard, Edward (2003). Clwyd (Denbighshire and Flintshire). The Buildings of Wales. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09627-9. OCLC 315792534.

External links

• Media related to St Cynhafal's Church, Llangynhafal at Wikimedia Commons