St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw

St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
A view from the south-east
St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw Location in Anglesey
53°11′27″N 4°28′00″W / 53.190715°N 4.466638°W / 53.190715; -4.466638
OS grid reference	SH 353 688
Location	Aberffraw, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
History
Status	Church
Founded	7th century
Founder(s)	St Beuno
Dedication	St Beuno
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	5 April 1971
Architect(s)	Thomas Jones (1840 restoration) Henry Kennedy (1868 rebuilding)
Style	Late Decorated
Specifications
Length	30 ft (9.1 m) (nave)
Nave width	16 ft (4.9 m)
Other dimensions	25 by 16 ft (7.6 by 4.9 m) (chancel)
Materials	Rubble masonry dressed with sandstone; slate roof
Administration
Province	Province of Wales
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Deanery	Malltraeth
Parish	Trefdraeth with Aberffraw with Llangadwaladr with Cerrigceinwen
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Vacant[1]

St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw is a 12th-century parish church in Anglesey, north Wales. A church was established in Aberffraw in the 7th century by St Beuno, who became the abbot of Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd. St Beuno's may have been used as a royal chapel during the early Middle Ages, as the princes of Gwynedd had a court in Aberffraw. The oldest parts of the church date from the 12th century, although it was considerably enlarged in the 16th century when a second nave was built alongside the existing structure, with the wall in between replaced by an arcade of four arches. Restoration work in 1840 uncovered a 12th-century arch in the west wall, which may have been the original chancel arch or a doorway to a western tower that has been lost. The church also has a 13th-century font, some memorials from the 18th century, and two 18th-century copper collecting shovels.

The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of four in a combined parish. As of 2013, the parish is without an incumbent priest. St Beuno's 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 a "rare Anglesey example of a double-naved church", with elements including the "unusually fine" 12th-century arch.^[3] A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region says that St Beuno's contains "some of the most significant Romanesque work on the island".^[4]