Church of Saint David

The Church of Saint David is a building of group value, dating to the 7th century with significant later additions and alterations. It is constructed of rubble stone with slate roofs. The church comprises a west porch, a nave, a central tower, and a chancel. The nave has a steeply pitched roof dating to 1873-4, with ashlar lancet windows: two single lights and a pair on each side, and two lancets and a small rose window in the west end. In the northwest angle, two fragments of an inscribed stone are set into the wall; they were read in 1699 and relate to the death of Idnert Filius Jacobi, said to have been killed for the relics of Saint David, providing the earliest reference to St David. A large gabled west porch has a moulded south entry arch and two west lancets. Within the porch is a moulded door with double doors secured by wrought iron hinges. The tower is substantial, approximately 11.4 metres (30 feet) square and 26.6 metres (70 feet) high, displaying rough stone voussoirs of the transept arches visible on the north and south sides. It features renewed two-light bell openings and a corbelled embattled parapet. A window over the ridge is on the east side (another similar window is visible inside the nave roof). The roof is a 19th-century slate pyramid with a weather vane. A northeast stair tower is flush with the east side. There is herring-bone masonry and a blocked window on the south side. Infill panels within the transepts incorporate pointed openings of 1833 with sandstone voussoirs, comprising a sash window to the north and a door to the south. Gothic glazing bars are present on the sash window and doorway overlight. A fragment of the Roman inscribed stone is located to the right of the door. The chancel has a pair of lancets on the south side, a single lancet on the north side, and three lancets on the east side, topped by a coped gable. An inset slate plaque commemorates D. Jones (died 1833).

The roofs are open-pitched with arch bracings, and the windows have ashlar rear arches. The tower has rough stone pointed arches and a pointed vault with bell-rope openings. A moulded, octagonal font made of ashlar dates to 1851. The church contains panelled pine pews from 1846-7, reputedly gifted by Queen Adelaide to her doctor, Sir David Davies. A statue of Saint David of 1959, sculpted by F. Mancini, stands in the southwest corner. A panelled pulpit and two Gothic reading desks were added in 1953-5. Panelled pine stalls are also present.

Beneath the tower are five early Christian stones: on the north side are an incised cross with a top bar, an inscription reading DALVS DUMELVS, a tall stone with half of an incised cross; on the south side are a tall stone known as St David's Staff with an incised cross and the inscription 'Cenlisini bt ds', and an inscribed cross with bifurcated foot and trefoiled ends. In the chancel, a slate plaque from around 1829 commemorates the Jones family of Llanio, and another plaque commemorates Easter Williams of Wearn (died 1779). Attractive timber rails and an altar were crafted by Withers. A heavy, three-bay stone reredos with a cornice and shafted squat columns was built in 1886. The 3-light east window contains stained glass installed in 1962 by Powell of Whitefriars.