St Gallgo's Church, Llanallgo

St Gallgo’s Church stands near the village of Llanallgo on Anglesey’s east coast. The oldest parts of the building, the chancel and transepts, date from the late 15th century, though a church has stood on the site since the 6th or early 7th century. The church is linked to the 1859 wreck of the Royal Charter, when 140 victims were buried in the churchyard. Charles Dickens wrote about the disaster and praised the rector, Stephen Roose Hughes, for his care of the victims and their families. Hughes himself is buried in the churchyard, where his gravestone notes the strain of those events as a cause of his early death. The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales and holds regular services in English and Welsh. It is one of four churches in a combined parish and is a Grade II listed building, recognised for its Perpendicular style and preserved 15th-century features. Inside, a late 13th-century bell bears the imprint of an Edward I coin and the inscription AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA. The church also contains memorials from the 17th to 19th centuries and Arts and Crafts furniture from the early 20th century. Visitors find a simple cross-shaped church with a slate roof and stone bellcote at the west end. The nave’s timber braces and barrel-shaped ceilings in the chancel and transepts are visible inside. The east window of the chancel shows stained glass of Christ walking on water, and the transepts have cinquefoil-topped windows. The churchyard holds the graves of the Royal Charter victims, an obelisk commemorating the disaster, and war graves from the two world wars. The surrounding area, with its coastal setting and rural character, adds to the church’s quiet dignity.