A 5th Century Legend & the oldest Welsh Manuscript - Medieval carvings at St Llwydian's Church

St Llwydian's Church stands near to 53°15′31″N , 004°21′59″W. OS grid SH 42238 76127, What three words ////maternal.backhand.grad, The postal code is near to LL77 7DZ. Heneglwys means simply "Old Church", which at first this seems unremarkable. But the obvious question is: old… compared with what? The present church was built in 1845, but records connected with the Incorporated Church Building Society note that St Llwydian’s was rebuilt “on an old foundation” and in a similar style as what came before. We know that a church existed at Heneglwys by the middle of the thirteenth century. The church appears in the Norwich Taxation of 1254 among the assessed churches of the Diocese of Bangor, providing one of the earliest documented references to the parish. By that date it was already an established part of the ecclesiastical landscape of Anglesey. But “Old Church” suggests that even in the medieval period this site was already regarded as ancient. Around the year 1250, a Welsh scribe copied a collection of ancient poems into what we now know as the Black Book of Carmarthen. Today it is recognised as one of the oldest surviving manuscripts written entirely in Welsh. Among its contents is a fascinating series of verses known as the Stanzas of the Graves. Englynion y Beddau These verses name legendary heroes and identify the places where they were believed to be buried. One of these places, is Hen Eglwys. According to the manuscript, a legendary warrior named Ceri Gledyvhir was laid to rest here. The verse, roughly translated reads “The grave of Ceri Long Sword, in the region of Hen Eglwys, In a rugged place — The Bull of Torment in the enclosure of Corbre. Whether either man truly existed is impossible to know. The stories were already ancient when they were written down. Yet the significance lies not in proving the existence of Ceri or Corbre, but in understanding what the manuscript tells us about the place itself. If the tradition preserves even a fragment of genuine memory, then the roots of this site may extend back into the fifth century, when Christianity was first becoming established in north-west Wales The churchyard enclosure may be one of the oldest Christian sites, on Anglesey. in 1845 the medieval church was largely rebuilt, but many fragments were carefully preserved and incorporated into the newer structure. Above both the north and south doorways are striking carved stones decorated with chevron ornament and crude human faces. Once thought to be fragments from a doorway arch, they may in fact be Romanesque corbels, perhaps supporting the roof or eaves of the earlier church. Whatever their original purpose, they are among the oldest visible features of the building. Another carved stone survives high in the eastern gable. Set near the apex, it bears decorative carving and what appears to be a human face. Weathered by centuries of exposure, it watches silently over the churchyard below. Inside stands a twelfth-century font. Carved with Romanesque arcading and geometric ornament. Its decoration bears a remarkable resemblance to the famous medieval font at St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan. The similarities are so striking that it is tempting to imagine the same workshop, or perhaps even the same mason, travelling between the churches of central Anglesey nearly nine hundred years ago. The repeated motifs, the style of carving and the quality of execution suggest a shared artistic tradition that linked these communities together. Nearby is a medieval stoup, once filled with holy water. Before entering the church, parishioners would dip their fingers into the water and make the sign of the cross, a ritual repeated countless times over the centuries. The church itself remains simple in form. A nave and chancel stand beneath a slate roof, while a bellcote at the western end houses two bells, with space for a third. Outside, Generations of parishioners lie buried beneath weathered stones. Here and there can be found curious examples of churchyard graffiti – clay pipes, handprints and even shoeprints scratched into stone. The Norman font, the carved corbels, the medieval stoup and the memorials all tell part of the tale. Yet the greatest mystery may lie beyond the visible building. The name Heneglwys, the traditions preserved in the Black Book of Carmarthen, and the memory of Ceri Gledyvhir and Corbre hint at a significance that reaches far deeper into the past. Was this one of the earliest Christian sites on Anglesey? The evidence is insufficient to say so with certainty.¬-_ But few churches on the island can claim a connection to a tradition preserved in one of the oldest Welsh manuscripts in existence. Fewer still combine that literary tradition with a name meaning "Old Church", a twelfth-century Norman church, and a churchyard that may have been regarded as special for centuries before the medieval building was erected. Thank you: Google maps for the map intro