St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen

St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen
The north side of St Edwen's
St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen Location in Anglesey
Coordinates: 53°11′26″N 4°13′12″W / 53.190578°N 4.220076°W / 53.190578; -4.220076
OS grid reference	SH 517 682
Location	Llanedwen, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	Parish website
History
Founded	640; current building 1856
Founder(s)	St Edwen
Dedication	St Edwen
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	23 April 1998
Architect(s)	Henry Kennedy
Architectural type	Church
Style	Late Decorated
Specifications
Materials	Rubble masonry with red gritstone
Administration
Parish	Bro Dwynwen
Deanery	Synod Ynys Mon
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Province	Province of Wales
Clergy
Priest in charge	Reverend E Roberts
Assistant priest(s)	Canon Professor Leslie Francis

St Edwen's Church, Llanedwen is a 19th-century parish church near the Menai Strait, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church was founded here by St Edwen (daughter of Edwin of Northumbria, king and saint) in 640, but the present structure dates from 1856 and was designed by Henry Kennedy, the architect of the Diocese of Bangor. It contains some memorials from the 17th and 18th centuries and a reading desk that reuses panel work from the 14th and 17th centuries. The 18th-century historian Henry Rowlands was vicar here, and is buried in the churchyard. The church is on land that forms part of the Plas Newydd estate, home of the family of the Marquess of Anglesey since 1812 and owned by the National Trust. Some of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and some of their employees, are also buried in the churchyard.

The church is used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of seven in a combined parish. A service is held using the Book of Common Prayer each Sunday morning. St Edwen's is one of the few churches in regular use in Wales to be lit entirely by candles. 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", in particular because it is regarded as "a good example of H Kennedy's designs for a small-scale rural church."

St Edwen's Church is in the south of Anglesey, north Wales, in a rural area known as Llanedwen. It is about 5 miles (8 km) from the county town of Llangefni, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the A4080 road between Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and Brynsiencyn and about 250 metres (270 yds) from the Menai Strait that separates Anglesey from the rest of Wales. The church is on land that forms part of the Plas Newydd estate, which has been the home of the family of the Marquess of Anglesey since 1812; some of the former marquesses and their employees are buried in the churchyard. Plas Newydd and its grounds are now owned by the National Trust. The area of Llanedwen takes its name from the church: the Welsh word llan originally meant "enclosure" and then "church".