St Tyfrydog's Church

St Tyfrydog’s Church stands in the small hamlet of Llandyfrydog on Anglesey, a quiet wooded spot reached by lanes that cross farmland. The churchyard is circular, a shape that points to its early origins, and the building itself is built from rough stone dressed with limestone. The nave and chancel arch date from about 1400, while the chancel was rebuilt at the end of the 15th or start of the 16th century. A stone bellcote at the west end holds one bell, and the slate roof shows its timbers inside. The porch on the south wall and the vestry to the north were added in 1862. The church carries Grade II* listed status, recognising it as an important medieval rural building that still keeps much of its original fabric. Cadw notes its “rich vernacular character,” and the circular churchyard wall and an 18th-century brass sundial are also protected. Local tradition tells of a standing stone a mile away said to be a thief turned to stone by Saint Tyfrydog for stealing a bible. Gerald of Wales recorded that Norman dogs kept in the church during a 1098 revolt went mad, and their master Hugh of Montgomery was killed within a week. Inside, the pointed arch between nave and chancel comes from about 1400, and the east window holds stained glass of 1873 by W. H. Sullivan of Liverpool. The 19th-century box pews are painted, and a 1721 silver paten and an Elizabethan silver cup survive. A brass sundial stands on the base of a medieval stone cross in the churchyard, where slate tombs mark the graves of past parishioners.