Church of St Iestyn

The Church of St Iestyn is a parish church, originally dating back to the 13th century, with additions and alterations made around 1300 and subsequent centuries. The church is constructed of rubble stone with a slate roof, and features a 19th-century bellcote on the west side.

The church comprises a simple long nave and a south aisle of equal width, though the aisle does not extend as far west. Narrow, pointed-arch lancet windows are characteristic throughout, with stone voussoirs defining the arches. The north side of the nave has three lancet windows, with a doorway to the left of the rightmost window, leading to a ledged door within a pointed doorway also defined by stone voussoirs. It is believed that the original 13th-century section joins the eastern addition dating from around 1300 between the central and leftmost windows. The rightmost lancet window is considered to be the sole surviving original window from the 13th century, with the others being 19th-century replacements. This original window is positioned within a blocked narrow doorway from around 1300. The eastern end features three crudely stepped lancet windows also dating from around 1300. The western end has a pair of high-set lancet windows above a pointed, plain doorway and plank door, likely dating from around 1300 or later. A small, blocked lancet window is situated on the south wall. The south aisle includes a small, rectangular, lattice-glazed window high in the west wall, along with three widely-spaced 19th-century lancet windows with stone voussoirs and a blocked original doorway with a rough round head. The three eastern lancets of the aisle date from around the 15th century, designed to match the eastern window of the nave.

Inside, the walls are plastered, and an ashlar arcade with five bays separates the nave and aisle. The arcade features four-centered arches formed by two hollow moulds, resting on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases. The eastern respond is decorated with a carved head, the base sitting upon an inverted plinth. The ceiling is supported by 19th-century arch-braced collar trusses with wishbone struts above the collars. The western end of the nave is lower than the rest of the church, and houses an early 19th-century musicians’ gallery, accessed via a lobby inside the north door. A simple, low screen with cresting runs along the front of the gallery, supported by the timber lobby. A whitewashed wall beneath the gallery incorporates a door and steps leading down into the western end. A notably shaped, whitewashed octagonal font features chamfered sides and an octagonal shaft with tapering angle buttresses, decorated with patterns including window tracery designs, likely dating from the 15th or early 16th century. The church also contains a mid-19th-century open-panelled timber pulpit, stalls, and wrought-iron and timber rails. Several memorial plaques are fixed to the north wall, beginning with a slate plaque dedicated to the Rev Elis Anwill, who died in 1742, and proceeding to plaques dedicated to the Rev Owen Owen (who recorded the building of the rectory), the Rev Robert Jones (born and died at the Rectory House), the seven children of the Rev John Owen, the Rev Edward Owen (who died in 1824), and three children of Rev Edward Owen. A floor slab to Evan Saethon of Saethon, who died in 1639, stands on the southwest wall. The eastern window contains a stained glass depiction of "Come unto me," dating from around 1900, and the west window of the south aisle incorporates an inset quatrefoil with an angel. Some stained glass is believed to have been moved from a demolished church at Sarn Meillteyrn.