St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog

St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog
The south side of the church, with the nave and porch to the left and the chancel to the right
St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog Location in Anglesey
Coordinates: 53°20′32″N 4°20′22″W / 53.342128°N 4.33935°W / 53.342128; -4.33935
OS grid reference	SH 443 853
Location	Llandyfrydog, Anglesey
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church in Wales
History
Founded	c.450 (original church) Oldest parts of current church date from c.1400
Founder(s)	St Tyfrydog
Dedication	St Tyfrydog
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	12 May 1970
Style	Medieval
Specifications
Length	24 ft 9 in (7.5 m) (nave)
Nave width	23 ft 6 in (7.2 m)
Administration
Parish	Amlwch
Deanery	Twycelyn
Archdeaconry	Bangor
Diocese	Diocese of Bangor
Province	Province of Wales
Clergy
Priest in charge	H. V. Jones

St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog is a small medieval church, in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey, north Wales. The date of establishment of a church on this site is unknown, but one 19th-century Anglesey historian says that it was about 450. The oldest parts of the present building (such as the nave and the chancel arch) are dated to about 1400, with the chancel dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. It is built from rough, small, squared stones, dressed with limestone. One of the windows on the south side is raised to illuminate the pulpit, a decision that in the eyes of one 19th-century commentator "disfigures the building."

According to local tradition, a standing stone about 1 mile (1.6 km) away is the petrified remains of a man who stole a bible from the church and was punished by St Tyfrydog as a result. The Welsh historian Gerald of Wales said that when the Norman lord Hugh of Montgomery was putting down the Welsh revolt led by Gruffudd ap Cynan in 1098, he kept his dogs in the church. The dogs had gone mad by the morning, and Montgomery himself was killed within a week.

The church is still in use for worship, as part of the Church in Wales, as one of four churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is a "good Medieval rural church which retains much of its Medieval fabric". The circular churchyard walls and an 18th-century sundial in the churchyard have also been given listed building status.

St Tyfrydog's Church is in a wooded circular churchyard in the middle of the hamlet of Llandyfrydog in Anglesey, north Wales. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) from the county town of Llangefni. Llandyfrydog takes its name from the church: the Welsh word llan originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-dyfrydog" is a modified form of the saint's name.