St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan

St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan
The church from the north, showing the doorway at the west end
St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan Location in Anglesey
Coordinates: 53°15′19″N 4°15′24″W / 53.255188°N 4.256780°W / 53.255188; -4.256780
OS grid reference	SH 495 755
Location	Llanffinan, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	Church website
History
Founded	c. 620 Present building 1841
Dedication	St Ffinan
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	30 January 1968
Architect(s)	John Welch (1841)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Romanesque revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone with slate roof
Administration
Parish	Bro Cadwaladr
Deanery	Synod Ynys Mon
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Province	Province of Wales
Clergy
Vicar(s)	The Reverend E C Williams
Assistant priest(s)	The Reverend E R Roberts

St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan is a small 19th-century parish church built in the Romanesque revival style, in Anglesey, north Wales. There has been a church in this area, even if not on this precise location, since at least 1254, and 19th-century writers state that St Ffinan established the first church here in the 7th century. The church was rebuilt in 1841, reusing a 12th-century font and 18th-century memorials, as well as the cross at the eastern end of the roof.

The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of eight in a combined parish, and services are held weekly. 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 considered to be "a good essay in a simple Romanesque revival style". The church is at the end of a gravel track in the countryside of central Anglesey, about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from Llangefni, the county town. It is also on a footpath to Plas Penmynydd, once home to Owen Tudor, founder of the Tudor dynasty.

St Ffinan's Church is in the countryside in the centre of Anglesey, north Wales, near the village of Talwrn, and about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) away from Llangefni, the county town of Anglesey. The parish church is at the end of a gravelled track, off a country lane between the lower part of Talwrn and the hamlet of Ceint to the south. It can also be accessed by public footpath from Plas Penmynydd, once home to Owen Tudor, grandfather of King Henry VII and founder of the Tudor dynasty. The parish takes its name from the church: the Welsh word llan originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", with "-ffinan" denoting the saint.

The date of construction of the first church in this area is uncertain, although a church was recorded here in 1254 during the Norwich Taxation of churches. The 19th-century writers and antiquarians Angharad Llwyd and Samuel Lewis said that St Ffinan, to whom the church is dedicated, established the first church here towards the beginning of the 7th century, possibly around 620. Llwyd described the old church in 1833 as "a small neat edifice". The current building was designed by the architect John Welch and erected in 1841, with the first service held on 6 July of that year. Welch also designed the church of St Nidan, Llanidan, in the south of Anglesey, which was built between 1839 and 1843.