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Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales

Church of St Tecwyn

Talsarnau, Gwynedd, Wales

The record

Designation
Listed building, Grade II
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Date of designation
30 December 2004
Locality
Llandecwyn
Community
Talsarnau
Unitary authority
Gwynedd
Country
Wales
Coordinates
52.91859, -4.03571
Cadw reference
83433

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1795 "To Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Bart ... the map of the six counties of North Wales is most humbly inscribed by his obedient humble servant" (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales).

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This record in Cadw's own full report ↗

Cadw's description

At the end of a country lane, once the county road to Maentwrog, c1km W of the main village of Llandecwyn.

Late C19 church built slightly to the N of the foundations of the earlier church. Built in 1879-80 to the designs of Thomas Roberts and incorporating a C11 inscribed stone and an arched recess from the fabric of its predecessor.

Rural parish church comprising continuous nave and chancel with SW porch. Simple early gothic style. Built of coursed, mortared, rubble masonry with plinth course and freestone dressings; slate roof with decorative tiled ridge and single W bellcote. The church is of 5 bays, each bay articulated by a stepped raking buttress and has a single pointed arched window; there is a similar window in the W gable and the E gable has a narrow trefoil-headed light with round-headed recess in the apex above. The SW porch has a pointed arched entrance.

The church interior is simple with a roof of 5 bays with exposed, chamfered, arch braced trusses down to wallposts on shaped corbels. The chancel is raised by a single step and the sanctuary a further step. On the N wall of the chancel is an inscribed stone, thought to be C11, found during the rebuilding of the church, which bears a crudely carved cross and the inscription:

Scti Tetquini Pr[esbyter]i h[o]ri Dei claris [imi] q[ue] Dei s[e]roi Heli diaco[n]i me fecit + a. b. c. d. e. f. +

[the Cross of] St. Tecwyn, presbyter, to the honour of God and the most illustrious servant of God, Heli, deacon, made me. (the last word may read 'merci').

On the S wall of the chancel is an arched recess with stone tablet to Iohn Owen, son of Owen Iohn of Caerwych d.1766 above.

Listed as a late C19 rural parish church in a prominent, early site. that contains features of the earlier church within its fabric, most notably a C11 inscribed stone of particular historic interest. The church forms a group with the adjacent church house.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Designated Historic Asset GIS Data, The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), 2026-09-07, licensed under the Open Government Licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Cadw, the Welsh Historic Environment Service · Open Government Licence v3.0
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