Church of St Tysilio

Church of St Tysilio

A small church of Grade II* importance, with a core structure comprising a nave without external differentiation of the chancel, built in local limestone rubble masonry with dressed quoins. The Yale chapel to the south, along with the 19th-century porch and north vestry, are constructed in slightly more regular similar masonry. The coped gables, finial crosses and bell turret are all 19th-century additions. The building is roofed in slate with tile ridges. The porch, also 19th-century, features a front gable with scalloped barges and a large timber finial.

The east windows are original medieval work in Perpendicular style. Both are three lights. The chancel east window is equilateral pointed in a plain surround without labels, with simple Perpendicular tracery including trefoils to the main lights and top lights. The east window to the Yale chapel has trefoiled lights under a flat head. The eastern south window of the Yale chapel is also original, with two trefoiled lights under a flat head; the western window in the same location is a 19th-century copy. The remaining windows throughout the church are all products of the 19th-century restoration. These include a tall lancet in the west wall of the Yale chapel, a restored two-light plain window to the left of the porch, a three-light plain flat-headed window to the west of the north elevation, two large flat-headed windows with two and three trefoil-headed lights respectively with tracery above on the north elevation, and a plain three-light window in the vestry. The main door and vestry door have plain equilateral arches; the door from the porch to the Yale chapel is moulded.

Interior

The small porch contains doors to the nave and to the Yale chapel, with a quarry-tiled floor. The door to the nave, installed during the 19th-century restorations, has centre hinges which allowed it to open partially before the west gallery was removed.

The compact nave features steps to the chancel and to the sanctuary. Red quarry tiles pave the nave, while encaustic patterned tiles cover the chancel. The roof spans four bays with collar-beam trusses and V struts. A 19th-century segmental profile celure (ceiling) spans the chancel in two bays with moulded cross ribs. Plain pews with open backs carry prominent carved fleurs de lys on their ends. The pulpit, positioned to the left, dates to the 17th century and is octagonal, panelled with raised carving on the upper panels and a stone base. The choir stalls are 19th-century work in Jacobean style but incorporate a carved date panel bearing 1615. Carved oak altar rails feature oak standards with crocketted elliptical heads to the openings. A Tudor-arched door provides access to the vestry.

The Yale chapel opens to the nave through a wide arch, carried by two massive timber posts, each supporting four brackets; one of the posts is original. These carry a moulded head beam with brattishing. The chancel celure and the last bay of the nave roof extend down to this beam by panelling. The opening is curtained. The Yale chapel possesses a more decorative roof with cusping to the collar beams and V struts, with panels between the rafters.

Furnishings and Memorials

The font, positioned beside the nave door, was the gift of William Corbet Yale and Isabella in 1875, in memory of an infant son. It is Gothic in style with four cherubs in high relief and bears a Welsh inscription.

Wall memorials include a simple Baroque memorial to W V Pughe of 1758 at the left of the nave. Yale family memorials occupy the chapel: to the left of the east window is a memorial with a carved mourning figure above, commemorating the Rev. J Yale; to the right stands a circular bronze Gothic memorial to Lieut. Col. W Parry Yale. The Yale chapel also contains a 14th-century coffin slab commemorating Tagwystyl, daughter of Ieuaf ap Mareded, inscribed in Lombardic letters.

At the left of the chancel hang the Royal Arms of George III, installed in 1810 at the expense of Watkin Thelwall, whose other benefactions are recorded on a board beside the nave entrance. A board at the right of the nave records the benefactions of Eliza Yale from 1882, and another beside the door records a grant of £20 to the restoration by the ICBS. The main east window commemorates the Rev. J P Jones Parry and Margaret, dated 1876, depicting faith, hope and charity. The south window of the Yale chapel shows the Little Children and the Good Shepherd, in memory of J E I Yale, dated 1896.