Church of St David or St Llyr

Cadw's description

Location

The church stands in a churchyard on the S side of a bend in the Afon Irfon. It is reached down a long track N off a minor road some 3.5km W of Builth Wells.

History

Anglican parish church on medieval church site, but probably mostly post-medieval, possibly C17 altered in C18 and mid C19. Recorded building work in 1687, c1778 and 1894. The interior looks as if work was done c1840-50, including the pews, paving and wooden window tracery.

Exterior

Church, whitewashed rubble stone with slate roofs. Low nave and chancel with small late C19 timber W bellcote and stone S porch. Nave has close-eaved roof, windowless W wall, open timber bellcote with slate pyramid roof, S porch and two crude pointed windows with brick voussoirs and Y-tracery, the first in stone, the second in wood. N side has 2 similar windows with brick heads and timber tracery. Porch has pointed entry with stone voussoirs. Stone seats, reused moulded rafters in roof and arched doorway within with framed plank door. Chancel S has one small pointed window, N side is windowless and E end has small Y-traceried 2-light window.

Interior

Plastered interior with flat plaster ceilings curved down each side to side walls, chancel ceiling is lower. Red and yellow tiles to floor. Nave W end has horizontally-boarded vestry. Much retooled but probably medieval small octagonal font , the underside chamfered to octagonal pier broached to square at foot. C19 pews with fleur-de-lys finials to bench ends and similar chancel stalls. C19 pine pulpit with blind traceried panels on stone base. Late C18 turned altar rails with 4 fluted posts. E window has patterned glass of 1892. Nave S first window has glass of Presentation in Temple, after 1920, and second has colourful stained glass of c1900 with 2 angels and portrait in small upper light.
N wall has attractive Georgian memorials of the regional type with painted simple classical detail: Watkin Bevan (d 1808) by Price of Builth; David Meredith (d 1852), signed TPB, and Rev John Bevan (d 1847) and William Bevan (d 1868) (matching earlier Bevan memorial), signed TPB. On S wall Mary Richards (d 1830), signed Davies of Builth.

Reason for designation

Included as a remote rural church with simple interior only lightly touched by Victorian restorers.