St Mary's Church, Rhodogeidio
St Mary's Church, Rhodogeidio | ||
---|---|---|
Style Late medieval | | |
Specifications | ||
Length | 30 ft (9.1 m) | |
Width | 12 ft 3 in (3.7 m) | |
Materials | Rubble masonry |
St Mary's Church, Rhodogeidio is a small medieval church, dating from the 15th century, near Llannerch-y-medd, in Anglesey, north Wales. It served as a chapel of ease to another church in the area, St Ceidio's. Some restoration work was carried out in the 19th century, but St Mary's has since fallen into disuse and is now largely in ruins.
It is a Grade II listed building, a national designation given to "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them",[1] in particular because it is "a late Medieval church of exceptionally simple character", and is virtually unaltered despite its poor condition.[2] One writer has said that St Mary's "has the distinction of probably being the most isolated church in Anglesey".[3]
History and location
St Mary's Church is in the countryside in
It was built in the 15th century as a
Architecture and fittings
St Mary's is a small church, measuring 30 feet by 12 feet 3 inches (about 9.1 by 3.7 m).
Entrance to the church was through a doorway with a square head, in the north wall at the west end; this dates from the 19th century.[2] An inscribed stone near the doorway has the date 1798 and some initials, and it has been suggested that this marked the date of some renovation work.[2][6] There are two windows on the south wall, one fully blocked and one partially blocked. The small window at the east end of the church dates from the latter part of the 15th century.
Inside, little remains, but the ruins still have most of the original roof trusses (one, at the west end of the church, is a replacement).[2] There are some slate memorial tablets on the walls, dating from the middle of the 19th century, and a plain 12th-century circular font.[2][5] The 1937 survey noted a bell dating from 1717 and some portions of 17th-century panelled seating near the pulpit; these were not recorded when the church was given listed status in 1970.[2][4]
Assessment
St Mary's has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II listed building – the lowest of the three grades of listing, designating "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them".[1] It was given this status on 12 May 1970 and has been listed because it is "a late Medieval church of exceptionally simple character".[2] Cadw (the Welsh Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that despite its "very poor condition", St Mary's "is a virtually unaltered late Medieval building (even retaining the original roof trusses) and in its isolation, is characteristic of many churches on the island."[2]
Writing in 1859, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones called it a "small, plain, single-aisled chapel", and said that one of the small south windows was "a good specimen of its kind."[6] A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey says that the "roofless ruin" of St Mary's "has the distinction of probably being the most isolated church in Anglesey".[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85760-222-6.
- ^ National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ ISBN 1-84527-089-4.
- ^ Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 144.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-14169-6.
- ^ a b c Longueville Jones, Harry (1859). "Mona Mediaeva No. XXIII". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 3rd. V. Cambrian Archaeological Association: 169–170.
External links
Media related to St Mary's Church, Rhodogeidio at Wikimedia Commons