Llanrhystyd Church

40 Mins from our holiday cottages
25 Miles from our holiday cottages

Llanrhystud, Ceredigion
SY23 5DG (Sat Nav)

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Llanrhystyd Church

Llanrhystyd Church - Extract from a leaflet by Mr. Mathew M. Griffiths,
date unknown. Stored at Ceredigion Archives

The village church is dedicated to St. Rhystud, sometime Bishop of Carleon-on-Usk and an immigrant from Letavia, or Llydaw. (Llydaw was, until recently, thought to be Brittany in France, bur scholars have tended recently to place it much nearer, perhaps S.E. Wales.)

The present structure dates from 1852 and took the place of an earlier church, signs of which may still be seen in the West end, under the Belfry. This old door, with the step leading down to it, was only discovered in 1958 when some renovations were being made to the plaster work on the walls, and it was noticed that there were a number of holes to the right and left of it, probably to hold the joists of a "Rood loft". The lower part of the Belfry is thought to have been laid in the 14th century if not before.

The first reference that can be traced to an incumbent of the parish, is to a "Griffith Powell", who "on July 24th 1582 was a witness before the Court Leet at Aberystwyth". He had been "in 1544 appointed priest-in-charge of Llanrhystud at the yearly stipend of five pounds".

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