St Caian's Church, Tregaian

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Coordinates: 53°17′30″N 4°19′30″W / 53.291621°N 4.324948°W / 53.291621; -4.324948
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St Caian's Church, Tregaian
Province of Wales
DioceseDiocese of Bangor
ArchdeaconryBangor
DeaneryMalltraeth
ParishLlangefni with Tregaean with Llanddyfnan (Talwrn)
Clergy
Priest in chargeJ Ashley-Roberts[1]

St Caian's Church, Tregaian, also known as St Caean's Church, Tregaean, is a small medieval church dating from the 14th century in Anglesey, north Wales. It is dedicated to St Caian, a Christian from the 5th or 6th century about whom little is known. The building contains a late 14th-century east window and a late 15th-century doorway. The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died in 1581 at the age of 105, leaving over forty children between the ages of 8 and 89 and over three hundred living descendants.

The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, and is one of three churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest",[2] in particular because it is regarded as "an excellent late Medieval rural church".[3]

History and location

The date of construction of the first Christian building on this site is unknown. The church is dedicated to

St Cwyllog, who established the nearby church of St Cwyllog, Llangwyllog, in the 6th century.[6][7] Other manuscripts say that he was active in the 5th century and was a son or grandson of Brychan, a king from south Wales.[5][8]

Caian gives his name to the hamlet of

Tregaian in which the church is situated: the Welsh word tref (shortened here to tre) means "settlement", and "-gaian" is a modified form of the saint's name – i.e. "Caian's settlement".[9] Tregaian is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Llangefni, the county town of Anglesey, and the church is in the countryside by a small road.[10]

The present church is

archdeaconry of Bangor and the Diocese of Bangor.[11] As of 2013, the priest in charge of the parish is the Reverend J Ashley-Roberts.[1]

Architecture and fittings

The church is built from

bellcote at the west end. Entrance is through the doorway on the south side, from the late 15th century; it has decorated surrounds and a square frame. There is no structural division between the nave (where the congregation sit) and the chancel (where the altar is located) apart from a single step up into the chancel.[3] The church is about 40 feet 6 inches (12.3 m) long by 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m) wide.[12] The east window, from the late 14th century, is set in a pointed arch with decorative edging.[3] It has stained glass from 1916 depicting Christ crowning a knight with the words "Well done thou good and faithful servant / Take unto you the whole armour of God."[3][13] There are two pairs of square-headed windows in the south wall, dating from the 17th century. On the north side of the church, a second entrance was blocked up in the late 19th century, and there is one pair of square-headed windows, also from the 17th century; there is also a small window at the west end of the church, from the 17th or 18th century. The beams of the roof can be seen from inside the church. Behind the altar is a panelled reredos from the 19th century.[3]

A memorial by an old gravestone

The church has a 12th-century circular font, decorated with an irregular pattern of chevrons on the side.

Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire noted a plain silver cup dated 1714–15.[12] The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died at the age of 105 in 1581. Married three times, he fathered 42 or 43 children in and out of wedlock, and more than 300 of his descendants attended his funeral. His children at his death ranged in age from 8 to 89.[10][14]

Assessment

The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II*

Welsh Assembly Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also states that it "retains a strong simple character in the retention of many early features and its original plan, with structurally undivided nave and chancel."[3]

The 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd described the church as "a small but neat edifice", and noted the "handsome" east window.[15] The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the church was "simple and primitive in its construction".[14] Writing in 1847, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones said that the font was "remarkable" for having no drain, and was "hardly large enough for immersion."[16] He added that the east window was of "rather singular" design.[16]

A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey notes the "unusually wide" east window.[10] A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region says that the church "gives an impression of what the Anglesey parish churches were like before so many were reassembled in the 19th century" – partly because the walls lean, it adds.[13] The east window has also been compared to that of St Ceidio's Church, Rhodogeidio, also on Anglesey.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Church in Wales: Benefices". Church in Wales. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  2. ^
    ISBN 1-85760-222-6
    .
  3. ^
    National Historic Assets of Wales
    . Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  4. ^ Baring-Gould, pp. 92–94.
  5. ^ a b Baring-Gould, p. 51.
  6. ^ Baring-Gould, p. 279.
  7. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1849). "Llangwillog (Llan-Gwillog)". A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  8. ^ Williams, Robert (1852). Enwogion Cymru: A biographical dictionary of eminent Welshmen, from the earliest times to the present, and including every name connected with the ancient history of Wales. W. Rees. p. 61.
  9. ^ "Glossary of Welsh origins of place names in Britain (T to Y)". Ordnance Survey. 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  10. ^
    ISBN 1-84527-089-4
    .
  11. ^ "Deanery of Malltraeth: St Caean". Church in Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  12. ^ a b Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, p. 149.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-300-14169-6
    .
  14. ^ a b Lewis, Samuel (1849). "Trêgayan (Trêf-Gîan, or Trêf-Gaian)". A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  15. ISBN 1-872773-73-7
    .
  16. ^ a b Longueville Jones, Harry (1847). "Mona Mediaeva No. V". Archaeologia Cambrensis. II. Cambrian Archaeological Association: 44–45. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  17. ^ Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, p. 144.
Bibliography

External links

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