(1641) THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. IESTYN

THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. IESTYN (Fig. 84, Plates
12, 13, 16, 17, 19,26,36,37) consists ofan undivided nave and
chancel and a shorter S. aisle. The original church, now the
nave, was of the early I3th century, and was extended to the
E. about 1300. The church was of some importance at that
time,1 and the masonry is of very good quality. Late in the
15th or early in the 16th century the S. aisle was added; the
E. window is a copy of the triple lancets of the chancel.
The church is well built, mainly oflocal rubble but with the
arcade of a fme gritstone. The roofs and floors are modern.
In the undivided Nave and Chancel (75 ft. by 17 ft.), the W.
two-thirds is formed by the surviving fabric of the original
13th-century church; the E. third was added later in that
century. Two original windows can be traced near the W.
end. That in the S. wall (Plate 17), now blocked, was I ft. 6 ins.
wide and 3 ft. 10 ins. high, with a well-rounded head of
accurately shaped voussoirs. That in the N. wall is 2 ft. wide

1641

and originally 4 ft. 9 ins. high though the sill has since been
lowered by about a foot; the head is very slightly pointed.
The remaining openings in the N. wall are modern; that
nearest to the E. end is formed in a blocked original doorway
2 ft. wide. The W. doorway, 4 ft. I in. wide, has splayed
internal jambs and a slightly pointed head. The voussoirs are
shallow, and the stonework of the joints is small compared to
that of the windows mentioned above. These features suggest
that the doorway is an insertion, and it has becn shown as
such on the plan, although thcre is no obvious indication of
disturbance in the adjacent walling. The door now gives
access only to the W. 16 ft. ofthe nave which is separated from
the remainder by a modern partition with a central door and
is covered by a modern gallery; the floor of this part is 3 ft.
7 ins. below that ofthe rest of the church. Above the doorway
are two lancets with slightly pointed heads, similar in character
to those in the E. window, and like the doorway perhaps a
careful insertion. The gable is capped by a modern bell-cote.
The E. window (Plate 17), above the altar, is original work of
about 1300; it comprises three lancets of equal width with
roughly pointed heads, the central one being higher than the
others; they are formed of. the same rubble as used in the
walling, and the glazing is set back about a foot from the outer
face.
The S. Aisle (58 ft. 6 ins. by 18 ft. 6 ins.) was almost certainly
added in the late 15th or early 16th century. The E.
window and the blocked S. door are of earlier character, but
the period is indicated by the arcade and by analogies with
neighbouring churches, e.g. Abercrch, Llanengan and Llangwnnadl
(Nos. 1482, 1590, 1638), where the date of the
extcnsion is not in doubt. The E. wall has been bonded with the
earlier work, but the line of the original S~ wall can be traced
inside the church. The E. window (Plate 12) is a copy of the
earlier window in the chancel, but is ofrougher workmanship.
The S. wall contains three windows, all modern, and an
original narrow doorway, now blocked. This (Plate 19) has
jambs of large stones and a roughly built semi-circular head.
It may be a copy of a doorway in the original S. wall, just as
the E. lancets are a copy of those in thc chancel. The W.
gable contains some exceptionally large stoncs in its lower
courses and in the quoins, and high up is a plain rectangular
window, probably a I7th- or 18th-century insertion.
The arcade of five bays (Plate 13), which separates the two
parts ofthe church, is formed with four-centred arches oftwo
hollow-chamfered orders, the outer ones being diagonally
stopped. The E. respond (Plate 16) was designed for a higher
floor level and the base rests on what seems to be an inverted
plinth above a modern square base; the cap has a small carved
head facing S.W.
Fittings.-Books: for registers see p. cxxxvi. Dog-tongs: of
oak with iron pivots; inscribed 1750. F011t (Plate 26): octagonal
sandstone bowl and pedestal. The vertical and inclined faces
bear carvings of lancet and traceried windows and diaper or
curved geometrical patterns. The pedestal has tapering buttresses
flanking plain vertical panels. The font is one of the
most elaborate of a type found elsewhere, as at Llanfair-isgaer
(Vol. IT, No. 1247) and Llangwnnadl (No. 1638). Probably
earlY-16th century. Memorials: (i) Stone slab, set against

W. wall ofS. aisle (Plate 36), with inscription in Roman capitals
to Evan Saethon, 1639, and a shield-of-arms, a lion rampant in a
border engrailed (Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr). (ii) On N. wall of
chancel, slate panel, carved and gilt (Plate 37), to Elis Anwill,
1742. In churchyard, of slate: (iii) John Wynne, 3rd son of
R.W., Rhosgoch, 1691. (iv) Humphrey Parry, 1731, (v)
K(a)trine WilIiam, 1733, (vi) John Roberts, 1743. Plate:
(i) Silver chalice and paten-cover, with plain beaker-shaped
bowl and plain curved truncated stem with shallow moulded
foot. Inscription in one line near lip, ‘As often as ye shall eate
this bread, and drinke this Cup, ye shew the Lord’s death till
he come-I Cor ii 21’. Below this, ‘The guift of Roger Jones
Citizen of London, borne in ye parish of Llaniestyn in ye
County of Carnarvon, 1634’. The paten-cover, which overhangs
the rim, has two concentric depressions; on the foot is a
dragon with the donor’s initials R I. London date-letter
1634-5. Maker’s mark R with a rose under. Height 7 1
9(jins.2
(ii) Pewter flagon with lid, height 8i ins., diameter at mouth
31- ins.; lid 21 ins. high; no marks or inscription. (iii) Pewter
plate, diameter 9 ins.; with maker’s name Baldwin and mark
bird on rose. (iv) Pewter plate, diameter 13 ins.; with maker’s
name Baldwin and marks bird on rose, WIX, flower, trefoil
and R I. Items (ii)-(iv) are now at Botwnnog.
Lewis, Top. Diet., s.v.; Arch. Camb., 1900, p. 316 (as in
1858).

Rated next below Aberdaron in the deanery of Lleyn, Taxatio,
pp. 291, 294 (Rec. Caern., p. 227); Valor EcclesiastiCtls, IV, p. 420; VI
pp. xiv, xviii, xxxii, xxxiii (with chapels of Bodferin, Penllech and
Llandygwnning) .
2 Church Plate, p. 99, PI. IX.
Condition: good.

SH 26983375                                  25 iv 61                                   39 S.E.

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