Church of St. Gwenfaen

Church of St. Gwenfaen

This is a simple Early English style church comprising a nave of 2 bays, a shorter and narrower chancel added to the east end, and a southwest porch. The building is constructed of local squared rubble masonry with freestone dressings, beneath a modern slate roof with stone copings. The west gable features an ashlar bellcote, and crosses are set at each gable apex.

The exterior is articulated by paired lancet windows to the nave bays, and a similarly detailed window with relieving arch in the west gable. The chancel has a stepped lancet window. The southwest porch contains single lancet windows on either side and a chamfered, pointed-arched doorway with a stone above bearing a recessed quatrefoil motif. The inner doorway has a reset 15th-century surround with casement-moulded jambs and a round head in a square frame with enriched spandrels; a quatrefoil appears to the right and a star to the left. When reset, the doorway was widened with a stressed keystone.

Interior

The nave contains 4 roof bays with exposed rafters and collared trusses with braces carried down to wall posts on moulded corbels. The chancel comprises 3 roof bays with collared trusses with cusped braces pierced with trefoils, similarly carried down to wall posts on moulded corbels. The chancel is raised by 2 steps, and the sanctuary features a reredos formed by a mosaic of marble tiles in a floriate design, with oak communion rails on shaped and decoratively pierced stanchions.

The principal fittings include a late 15th-century 3-tiered octagonal font with the lower 2 tiers conical and converging towards each other, set on a chamfered base. The bowl's facing panels are decorated with a mix of recessed round and cusped arches, saltires, and one with a quatrefoil; the lower tiers display plain and trefoil arches and saltires. A bell dated 1611 is present. A 20th-century pulpit has 5 facing panels with paired trefoil recesses and quatrefoils above to the upper part, and paired quatrefoil recesses to the lower part, with carved chamfered angles. The lower part of the pulpit is recessed with the upper part supported on pierced floriate brackets. Pitch pine pews furnish the nave.

Stained Glass

The chancel east window depicts Christ at the Sea of Galilee, showing Rhoscolyn Bay in the background. In the nave south wall west window, St. George and St. Michael appear as a memorial to Captain A. D. H. Grayson RFA and the 1914–18 war, to a design by Burne-Jones; the east window shows Christ as a memorial to Ianet Maud Pemberton, died 1892. The nave north wall west window depicts St. David and St. Gwenfaen as a memorial to Francis Mathrall, died 1907; the east window shows Christ and the Shepherds as a memorial to James Lewis, died 1896. The porch west window contains St. Luke and the east window contains St. John.

Monuments

The church contains memorials dating from the 17th century onwards. In the nave south wall, a marble memorial with an achievement-of-arms above commemorates Hugh Hughes of Plas, Inspector General of Excise in Dublin, Tully, County Kildare, Esq., died 1754. The nave north wall bears a marble memorial to the ancestors of John Hughes of Plas and his father Hugh Hughes, 1699. In the chancel south wall, a marble memorial bearing a crest of lion rampant commemorates Thomas Roberts of Bodior, died 1736, his wife Margaret, died 1748, and their son William, died 1763. The chancel north wall contains a marble mural monument with flanking pilasters, an achievement-of-arms above, and two cherubs' heads below, to John Owen of Bodiar, died 1709, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Rowland Jones of Pentraeth, died 1719. A fine 20th-century memorial of copper with Art Nouveau styled design commemorates John Hopkin, preacher, died 1901.