Church of St Silin

Church of St Silin

A church of double-naved form built in local variegated sandstone and shaley stone, with masonry dressings in sandstone or other freestone mostly from the 19th-century restoration. The masonry is generally uncoursed quasi-rubble, and the north and east walls of the north aisle are battered at the foot. The south wall reveals several major building periods progressing from east to west, including a small setback a little right of centre with prominent quoins. Slate roofs with red tile ridges are topped by coped gables at east and west with overlapping copings and small Celtic-cross finials at the apexes. A tower was added at the west in 1832 in variously coloured sandstone in regularly coursed work, weathering differently from the mediaeval masonry, with ashlar buttresses of apparently lighter colour.

The east window of the present nave is a four-light window in Perpendicular style with slightly drop-arch form, two sub-arches above the transom, cusped tracery and main lights, and a thin label mould with ends turned out. The adjacent east window of the north aisle is also in Perpendicular style with four cusped lights and sub-lights above without transom and with a high sill level.

The south wall contains, from east to west: a two-light window with trefoiled lights and sunken spandrils; a narrow lancet with hollow chamfers, possibly reset; a 19th-century window of two cinquefoiled lights; another 19th-century window of three cinquefoiled ogee lights centred above a mediaeval two-order doorway with heavy rolls in brown sandstone (roughly reconstructed in drop-arch form) with an oak door showing Civil War bullet holes; and a 19th-century two-light window with round heads. The north wall contains, from east to west: a lean-to shed, a two-light window with cinquefoiled heads and sunk spandrils, and a 19th-century two-light window with foliated label moulding. At the west of the north aisle is a 19th-century two-light window in a former door opening.

The tower is of three storeys with crocket-finial angle buttresses to the top storey merging into gabled crossed buttresses beneath. The parapet is crenellated and corbelled, with a slight offset at the base of the top storey. Plain single light belfry openings appear on all sides with a sill string to the west. A single light in the ringers' storey to the west has simple hood mould and sill string course. The plain main west doorway has a simple hood mould and outer iron gates.

A stone memorial to Huw Morus against the south wall was put up in 1874 to replace the worn stone written about by George Borrow in Wild Wales.

Interior

The church is entered by the west porch in the base of the tower, which is stone-flagged with a stone staircase at the left leading to the gallery and tower. The tower contains bells and a clock of 1848.

A pointed door leads to the nave beneath the timber support structure of the gallery. The nave roof is of four bays with arch-braced collar beam trusses with cusped struts and windbraces. The nave is a little wider than the north aisle (which was the original nave), from which it is separated by an arcade of four pointed arches on octagonal piers. The nave and aisle are stone flagged and planned as one for the purpose of setting out the pews, which are separated by two main passages, a passage at the rear and a passage to the south door. The pews are panelled with carved top rail and ends. A 18th-century pulpit to the right has a sound-board. At the chancel steps, centrally, is a fine brass chandelier, known as the Seren Silin, made by Richard Roberts of Birmingham, a native of Llansilin, in 1824, and fitted with a lowering mechanism.

The west gallery is supported by a late mediaeval timber frame with large timbers and cusped braces, possibly reused from a rood screen. Above the west gallery is a Commandments board with Moses and Aaron painted on canvas, formerly in the chancel of the north nave, carrying the names of late 18th-century churchwardens. The gallery balustrade has 18th-century splat balusters. Beneath the gallery is a poor-box dated 1661. Above the gallery hangs a timber chandelier of the 17th century. At the east end of the north aisle are two preserved box pews and a low screen to the vestry formed of reused box-pew wainscot. A 17th-century font and cover stands at the west end of the nave.

A small step up leads to the chancel. The chancel is paved in red quarry tiles with strips of encaustic tiles. Its high point is three bays of 15th-century celure of barrel form with traceried panels, originally there was a similar celure to both chancels. It is tied by three large chamfered and stopped beams with cusped struts above. Double choirstalls each side by Baker incorporate reused carved 17th-century wainscot. An organ at the left retains its original hand-blowing lever and indicator. The vestry lies to the north at nave floor level.

Two steps up lead to the sanctuary with a hardwood Communion rail without gate. A Carolean altar table has one end uncarved. Panelling covers the full width of the east wall with returns each side.

Monuments on the south wall include a Baroque carved memorial to Sir William Williams of Glascoed, Speaker of the Commons, with urns, arms, cherubs and pilasters, dated 1700. A large Baroque memorial on the north wall commemorates David Morris of Penybont, with an inscription detailing the history of his property, dated 1719, a splendid example of the use made of church memorials to publicise title. This memorial has a fine wrought iron grille at the foot and plaster coving above. A display of former box-pew brass nameplates appears on the wall of the north aisle. Also on the north aisle wall are the Royal Arms in plaster, now painted white, but paradoxically those of Queen Anne post-1707 together with a Foulkes monument of 1762, in the time of George III, evidently put up at the same time. This raises the question whether this was an anti-Hanoverian gesture.

The east window features the four Evangelists and the Ascension by Powell and Sons. The east window of the north aisle was installed in 1875 and commemorates Huw Morris of Eos Ceiriog, the Royalist satirical poet who died in 1705 and is buried in the churchyard.