Church of St David

Church of St David

A 16th-century church constructed of rubble stone with slate roofs and slightly battered walls, quoins and cross finials to gables. The church comprises a nave, a non-aligned lower and narrower chancel, a west bellcote and a south porch with Tudor-style windows.

The south porch is gabled and positioned at the centre of the nave. It has a chamfered horse-shoe arch with filleted stops. Inside are a flagstone floor, side benches, and a pointed arched doorway into the nave with hoodmould, containing a planked door with iron strapwork. To the left of the porch is a 19th-century 3-light window with flat head and hoodmould, each light with a trefoiled ogee head. Evidence of an earlier reveal is visible immediately to its left, and further left are two straight joints, possibly from a former doorway. To the right of the porch is a 16th-century Tudor window containing 2 lights with hollow mouldings under a flat head and hoodmould. The wall advances slightly to the right to house a mural staircase, with a tiny stairlight visible.

The nave's north side has three windows: a 16th-century window to the left in the same style as the front but with 3 lights, a 19th-century 2-light window to the centre, and a 19th-century 3-light window to the right.

The chancel is lower and narrower than the nave, with raised kneelers and no openings to the south or north sides. Its east window is 3-light with pointed head and hoodmould, featuring a trefoiled light to the centre with a rose above, flanked by cinquefoiled lights.

The west end has a small gabled bellcote with an arched opening for the bell. At ground level is a blocked doorway with a 4-centred arched head of stone voussoirs and chamfered jambs.

Interior

The interior is simple. The nave has a 7-bay arch-braced roof, probably of 19th-century date. A square recess to the west wall is aligned with a former doorway, and a low platform is positioned at this end. On the ground in front of the platform is a timber lintel inscribed 'TM 1698 WI 1848', brought from the porch in 1935.

A plain round-headed chancel arch, offset to the right with a narrow chamfer, separates the nave from the chancel. To the left of the porch is a square-headed doorway to the mural staircase which formerly led up to a rood loft, surrounded by large rough stones with a monolithic lintel.

The nave contains a central aisle with pews having square bench ends with recessed trefoiled lancets. The floor is mainly of quarry tiles. A recut medieval font, octagonal and tapering towards the base, stands on an octagonal stem with broach stops (appearing to be of later date), all on a 3-tier plinth.

To the right of the entrance is an early medieval pillar stone with Celtic cross, brought to the church from a farmhouse in 1903. An octagonal wood-panelled pulpit to the northeast has blind trefoiled arches and quatrefoils on a stone base. In front of it stands a free-standing cast iron stove.

A white marble tablet behind the pulpit is of particular interest. It commemorates John Lloyd, son of Rees Lloyd of Dinas, who was captain of the East India Company ship 'Manship'. In 32 years of naval service he made 12 voyages to India, surviving two shipwrecks and imprisonment by Tippoo, Sultan of Mysore. He returned afterwards to promote the welfare of his native people, and died in 1818 aged 70.

The chancel has a wooden altar rail with saw-tooth moulding and cusped brackets. Its 2-bay roof matches that of the nave. To the right of the east window is a stone tablet to Lieutenant John Joseph (died 1826), decorated with Tudor flowers.

Grave Monuments

Fixed to the walls are a number of grave slabs. To the south side of the nave and to the far left is a memorial to Margaret Jones of Abercyros, Llangammarch (died 1783). It has a border of incised scrolls with angels to the corners, those at the top playing trumpets. The monument is signed David Davies, sculptist, of Llangammarch. Attached to the staircase bay is a round-headed tablet with urns, commemorating Mary Davies of Llanafanfawr (died 1787), by Evan Thomas, sculptor.