St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd
The west end of the church
St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd Location in Anglesey
53°10′31″N 4°19′31″W / 53.175220°N 4.325155°W / 53.175220; -4.325155
OS grid reference	SH 4470 6676
Location	near Dwyran, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	Parish website
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	Probably 15th century
Dedication	St Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	30 January 1968
Architect(s)	Harold Hughes and William G. Williams (1936 repairs)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Medieval
Specifications
Length	47 ft (14.3 m)
Width	14 ft (4.3 m)
Materials	Rubble masonry
Administration
Province	Province of Wales
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Deanery	Tindaethwy and Menai
Parish	Newborough with Llanidan with Llangeinwen and Llanfair-yn-y-Cymwd
Clergy
Priest in charge	E. Roberts[1]

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd is a small medieval parish church near the village of Dwyran, in Anglesey, north Wales. The building probably dates from the 15th century, with some alterations. It contains a 12th-century carved stone font and a 13th-century decorated coffin lid. The bell is inscribed with the year of its casting, 1582. The historian Henry Rowlands was vicar of St Mary's in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maurice Wilks, who invented the Land Rover, is buried in the churchyard.

Although at one time during the 19th century St Mary's was too dilapidated to permit services to be held, repairs were carried out in the 19th century. The church is used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of five in a combined parish. Services are held once per month between April and September. St Mary'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 regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church".^[3] It is also said to be "an important survival" because many of the older churches in Anglesey were extensively rebuilt or repaired during the 19th century, and the alterations at St Mary's were less extensive.^[3]