DIOCESE OF ST ASAPH
DEANERY OF LLANRHOS
PARISH PROFILE
for the Grouped Parishes of
LLANRWST, LLANDDOGED WITH CAPEL GARMON, LLANSANFFRAID GLAN CONWY AND EGLWYSBACH
May 2014
INTRODUCTION
The grouped parishes of Llanrwst, Llanddoged with Capel Garmon, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy and Eglwysbach are situated in the Conwy Valley, south west of Colwyn Bay. This is an area of natural beauty at the gateway to Snowdonia and the historic town of Conwy. The parishes are rural in nature but close to the coastal conurbation of Conwy, Llandudno and Colwyn Bay. This area provides much of the tourist accommodation in North West Wales. Farming abounds within the parishes, together with some light industry, and the new north Wales centre of the Welsh Assembly Government. The scenery is spectacular, with mountains, lakes and coastline and a plethora of historical places to be explored. The Welsh language and culture is vibrant here and thrives across the region.
Transportation and access to the area is excellent, with the A55 corridor and the Chester – Holyhead main line providing easy access to centres of population in England, and the ferry to Ireland for Holyhead. Locally the railway stationslink into Llandudno Junction and along the scenic Conwy Valley line to Betws y Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog to link with the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland narrow gauge railways. There is a regular bus service that connects to the shopping areas of Colwyn Bay and Llandudno.
The local regional infrastructure provides excellent education, further education and University opportunities, and the National Health Service administers two District General Hospitals, two community Hospitals and numerous GP services together with dental care. Shopping at both Colwyn Bay and Llandudno is very good, with town centre retail areas, specialist shops and several national supermarket chains. There are weekly markets in Colwyn Bay and Llanrwst, and regular farmers and specialised food markets. Entertainment is provided by a regional theatre (Venue Cymru) in Llandudno which has a huge variety of shows including Opera and Ballet, an intimate theatre in Colwyn Bay for small events and films, together with a multiplex cinema in Llandudno Junction. Sport is well catered for with swimming pools in Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, several leisure centres, and a newly refurbished Eirias Park Sports Centre in Colwyn Bay with athletics and international Rugby facilities. There are several National Trust and CADW historical sites in north Wales to be explored and the RSPB have a wonderful bird sanctuary close by. The recently created “Pilgrim’s Way” long distance footpath from Holywell to Bardsey Island passes through Eglwysbach, and the Church is to become a ‘staging post’ providing rest and refreshment and information for the walkers.
PARISH OF LLANRWST
Llanrwst sits in the beautiful Conwy Valley reached either along the A470 or across the River Conwy from Trefriw. It is no longer the only bridging point of the river Conwy, yet it still wears an air of importance as the market town for the Conwy Valley. Pont Fawr, the steep and elegant stone bridge designed by Inigo Jones, is however still the town's focal point. The 16th century bridge is so narrow as to allow single file traffic only, thus causing many a heated argument at the top of the bridge and bringing a new meaning to the words "cross over the bridge".
Inigo Jones also designed another of Llanrwst's memorable buildings the 17th century Gwydir Chapel which houses one of Wales' most important historic artefacts. The Chapel is to be found down a narrow street, past the restored row of Almshouses, in the grounds of St Grwst's Church, which overlooks the river Conwy on the town bank of the river. The Chapel was built for the powerful Wynne family, whose home was just across the river at Gwydir Castle, and it contains a massive stone coffin, the remaining half of the sarcophagus in which Llywelyn the Great's body was laid to rest. Magnificent portrait brasses and an effigy of a knight in armour accompany the old cold empty coffin.
Still on the west bank but wisely set further back from the river stands Gwydir Castle, for centuries the seat of the aforesaid influential Wynn family. The house has a fine sequence of Tudor rooms, though much of the house was rebuilt in the 19th century. The current owners are undertaking an extensive programme to restore Gwydir Castle to its former glory, and have recently obtained the panelling from the Dining Room which left Gwydir in the 1920's and was discovered in store in New York.
Back over the bridge and into Ancaster Square and you will find, as with all market towns, an abundance of pubs. Many are ancient coaching inns, and a fair number retain their character as well as the Welsh language, especially when the farmers descend on the town on the beast market days.
Accommodation can be found in a small number of hotels within the town and a number of holiday cottages, again either in the town or more likely in the smaller villages of the Conwy Valley or on the hillsides surrounding the town.
St Grwst’s Church
The Church erected on this site about 1170 was a thatched building which was partly destroyed by fire when Llanrwst was ransacked by Owain Glyndwr’s uprising, and was completely destroyed in 1468 by the Earl of Pembroke’s men, when the Yorkists retaliated for the burning of Denbigh. It was rebuilt in 1470 and it was 66 years later when the Rood Screen was brought here-supposedly from the Abbey of Aberllechog, or Maenan the dissolution of the monasteries.
In 1884 the church was restored by Paley and Austin, at a cost of £2,300, when all the old-fashioned pews and the western galley were removed. The square tower, containing two bells, and the North Aisle were added. In 2004, the South Aisle was reroofed.
The lady chapel of St Mary, in the North Aisle, was consecrated in 1970- the alter having been brought from the English Church dedicated to St Mary, built in 1841-2 on the Betws Road, now demolished.
Chancel Screen and Rood Loft
The most interested feature in the church is the Rood Screen, with its minstrels’ gallery above, and which separates the Nave from the Chancel.
The Screen is of richly carved oak and displaying intricate carvings of foliage, fish, birds and weird dragons. It’s not certain that this screen came from the Abbey at Maenan at its dissolution. The Rood Loft was used for musicians and singers from mediaeval times, well into the 19th Century.
As you examine the screen, notice how each tracery panel is different, for example the pomegranate (the badge of Catherine of Aragon), emblems of the Passion and pigs eating acorns etc.
Re-ordering Project
The church of St Grwst is in the early stages of a major reordering project so this is an exciting and busy time for the church community. The imaginative scheme, which has been fully approved, involves the development of this beautiful Grade 1 listed building in a way that respects its history but will also allow it to be better adapted to 21st century worship and use. As well as offering new and creative liturgical opportunities, we believe that this scheme will encourage wider use of the building, foster improved links with our local community and contribute to the important tourism economy of the town. The scheme will enhance historical features such as the Gwydir Chapel and the Rodd Screen and offer modern facilities such as better heating, flexible seating and kitchen and toilet facilities.
Present Day Church Statistics
The Church seats 350 and the Electoral Roll has 38 members.
Average attendance on a Sunday 10: Welsh Service, 20: English Service
Last year, the Church had 45 Baptisms, 3 Confirmees, 10 Weddings and 40 Funerals /Cremations
The last Quinquennial inspection was held in 2010 and some works are yet to be carried out.
Although there are no retired clergy living in the parish, there are two dedicated and hard-working worship leaders.
As well as the usual Sundayservices there are some traditions that are kept:
St Grwst Feast day Dec 1st
A Plygain is very well established and well attended on the 1st Sunday in January
Women’s World Day of Prayer shared between church, chapels and RC church.
Llanrwst Churches Together is a strong and supportive movement that has developed some of the following areas of shared mission:
Prayers for the sick –last Wed of each month held on a rota basis in each church and chapel.
Various joint services throughout the year including:
January: Service for the week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Lent: Weekly Lunch Meeting
Palm Sunday: walk of witness
May: Christian Aid
October: Harvest Supper
December: Open Air Carol Service on the Town Square and Operation Christmas Child
Details of other places of worship
Other denominations include 5 Chapels and Catholic Church.
Schools
There is Primary School with 269 pupils in Ysgol Bro Gwydir and a High School, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, with 750 pupils.
Buildings
Other buildings include the Church House and the Vergers Cottage.
PARISH OF LLANDDOGED WITH CAPEL GARMON
Llanddoged Church
The church is dedicated to St Doged – a 6th century Welsh king and martyr. Doged was slain by the King Cilydd who wanted Doged’s wife as his own, and the original church here was probably erected as a martyrium to him in the 6thcentury.
A Martyrium is a Church which was built over the tomb or relics of a martyr, or which occasionally was a Church built in honour of a martyr. There was once a statue of the Saint in the Church, but this has long disappeared.
The present Church is an interesting building: it is a listed building, being an edifice of stone, set in the middle of a circular churchyard, and consisting of a double nave having sitting for 200. It’s said to have been rebuilt in 1839 by the Rector, the Revd Thomas Davies, with the help of the Rector of Eglwysbach, the Revd David Owen, at the cost of £495.00. Their work, though, was no more than a remodelling. It is also said that the second Aisle was added to the original Church after the Reformation (Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833). So we have a survival of the double-aisle plan into post-Catholic times.
The East windows, both of three round-headed lights, are 16th century. It may be presumed that the others, which are stone-framed, are of similar date – the timber imitations being of 1839.The arcade of six plastered pointed arches on the timber post (which have been renewed) is also of the remodelling.
The Pulpit is in the middle of the North Wall. It is a two-decker, and together with the Clerk’s desk in front, makes it a three-decker. Above is a circular skylight of coloured glass.
The Box pews are focussed on the pulpit and there are raked pews marked “Boys & Girls” at the west end.
The Font is ancient and consists of an octagonal bowl of diminishing width of convex profile.
The Panelling behind the altar is 17th century, and there are indications that rails were arranged on all sides.
St Doged’s Well
If you turn to the right immediately after going out through the gates, and follow the churchyard wall, then past the two cottages on the right hand side, you will come, near the entrance to a new housing estate, to St Doged’s Well. It is now enclosed within a low square wall along three sides, has a locked wooden door on the north side, and is capped with slate slabs. The water of the Well in the past was famous as a cure for eye-disorders.
Services at St Doged
9.30am every Sunday except for the 1st Sunday of the month when the service is at 5pm – all services are bi-lingual.After services, fair trade tea/coffee is served and donations put in a box- the money given to the local Hospice charity.
We support Christian Aid and also Operation Christmas Child
The average number attending services is 18.
Llanddoged School
The School was built in 1827 and is a Voluntary Controlled Church School. An extension was built in the early 1970s, in 2007 the school was re furbished and a new hall was built and this acts as a canteen for the children to have their dinner and do their sport. The school has won an award for being a green in 2010 after it was re furbished.
Links between the Church and the School have developed significantly in the last few years and we are continuing to nurture this important relationship. There are around 52 children in the school and their first language is Welsh. They have a service in the hall every Tuesday morning and the Rector attends this service regularly. The Rector is a School Governor and will lead a Leavers’ Service this year.
The Village
There are strong links between the Church and the wider village community and the relationship is a very supportive one. At Christmas, there is a special service in the Church with the local brass band, followed by carols around the village Christmas Tree. This is followed by refreshments for everyone in Church. The Church members are good supporters of any event that goes on in the village
Within the village there are a few organisations – but with Llanddoged being so near to Llanrwst, some activities happen in Llanrwst as well. In the village itself, Merched y Wawr meets every 4th Wednesdayin the month and the Womens’ Institute every 2nd Monday, in the School Hall in the evenings. The Gardening Club meets on the 4th Tuesday in Maenan Abbey Hotel.
These meetings are well supported by the villagers – and the majority of church members attend these meetings.
PARISH OF EGLWYSBACH
The parish of Eglwysbach centres on the village which nestles in the beautiful Hiraethlyn Valley a stone’s throw from the world famous Bodnant Gardens. The population is a mix of native villagers together with an influx of people, generally of an older age group. The village has not only St. Martin’s Church, but two nonconformist Welsh Chapels, a Voluntary Controlled Welsh primary school, a Village Hall, a Post Office / Shop and an Inn. The community is vibrant with many people joining in with the various organisations within the village, Women’s Institute, Merched y Wawr, Darby & Joan, Sports Association, Historical Society, Children’s Club, Carpet Bowling, the Eglwysbach Show Society, and the weekly ‘Coffee Stop’ sponsored by the Church, at which many villagers gather for a cuppa’ and a chat on a Thursday morning. The village is bi-lingual with over 50% speaking the welsh language.The village in general supports St. Martin’s, even if they worship elsewhere or not at all, and wish to see it continue as the focal point of the village.
St. Martin’s is a vibrant church and congregation numbers for the Sunday service regularly number between 24 and 30 worshippers, with substantially more on High Days. This increase has been as a result of the enthusiasm of the clergy, and also the congregation themselves, who make new people feel very welcome. We have a ‘welcome person’ by the door at each service, and coffee / tea is served at the conclusion, Sunday morning is not only a worship of God, but also a development of friendship and caring in the community. On occasion we have subtle variations within our worship to keep the spirit alive. The Electoral Roll currently stands at 50. Remembrance Sunday is actively undertaken with a service at the village war memorials situated at the Church gates, and is attended by a cross section of residents. All our services are bi-lingual and there is plenty of lay involvement – we have a Worship Leader and several Chalice Assistants. We have a thriving Sunday school which is proving popular with children from the village. The children regularly take part in Church services.
St. Martin’s has over the last few years forged a link with the local Welsh Methodist Chapel, and we exchange services, especially during the week for Christian unity. We also have an overseas Charity link with the KIWI project in Uganda, where we support an orphanage with monetary and other gifts to help with the health and schooling of the children there.
St Martin’s Church
Eglwysbach, as a parish, can be identified back to the dissolution of the monasteries, and the Abbey at Maenan in particular, the first vicar being David, a former monk from the abbey. The first written evidence of Christianity in the locality is the end of the 13th century. Vestry books and registers are established since 1600, and are held at the archives in Llandudno. There is evidence of a former church on the site of the present church which was pulled down sometime around 1777 due to its ruinous condition. The new church was started around 1780. The present interior was remodelled in 1840, providing new pews, wall panelling and altar rails.