Eglwys Sant Gwynhoedl/St Gwynhoedl’s Church, Pwllheli ::: Visit a Church

	Eglwys Sant Gwynhoedl/St Gwynhoedl’s Church Lôn yr Eglwys LL53 8NN Pwllheli (Llangwnnadl) United Kingdom
Denomination:	Anglican
Congregation:	Bro Madryn (Esgobaeth Bangor/Diocese of Bangor, Archdeaconry of Meirionnydd, Synod Gogledd Meirionnydd)
Geogr. Coordinates:	52.86667° N, 4.66242° W
Reference year:	1400
Architectural style:	Gothic
Building type:	Hall Church
Description:	Hall church consisting of three equal-sized aisles, each with its own gables and roof; small bell cote on the centre gable in the west
Name derivation:	From St Gwynhoedl (the village name “Llangwnnadl” is also derived from his name, meaning “Church of Gwynhoedl”)


Outside facilities	Church gate with Celtic Cross and inscription “TY DDUW” (“House of God”) made and gifted by William Jones (1963)


Font	Octagonal stone font with carved heads showing King Henry VIII and Bishop Skeffington of Bangor (16th cent.)
Noteworthy	Copy of a bronze sanctus bell (6th cent.; original in the National Museum in Cardiff) St Gwynhoedl’s tombstone (in the south wall; dated around 600); another tombstone also associated with Gwynhoedl is the “Vendestle Stone”, today in Oriel Plas Glyn y Weddw in Llanbedrog Latin inscriptions in black lettering, one of them saying “S GWYNHOEDL IACET HIC” (“St Gwynhoedl lies here”)

History:

Early 6th cent.:	Erection of a Christian altar by the family of Gwynhoedl, who died before the family left their former home at Llannor
14th cent.:	(or 15th cent.) Construction of the current church
1520:	Addition of the north aisle and arcade, later used as a parish school until the 19th cent.
1530:	Addition of the south aisle
1850:	Renovation (architect Henry Kennedy) including removal of the old chancel screen
1940:	Urgent repairs carried out
1963:	Further renovations including renewal of the seating and the floor

Important persons:

Patron:

Gwynhoedl (fl. 6th cent., Welsh Saint, son of the King Seithenyn of Cantre’r Gwaelod, a sunken kingdom in the Cardigan Bay)

Sources

Bro Madryn Churches: Eglwys St Gwynhoedl – Parish Church of Llangwnnadl

Coflein: St Gwynhoydl’s Church, Llangwnadl (sic!), http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/43745/details/st-gwynhoydls-church-llangwnadl, retrieved 11/11/2018

Schäfer, Joachim: Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon, Eintrag „26. Oktober“, Stuttgart, https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/KalenderOktober/26.htm, retrieved 04/09/2017

Wicipedia: Gwynhoedl, https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynhoedl, retrieved 04/09/2017

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