83586

 

II  

Designated  

31/01/2005  

31/01/2005  

Church of St. Gwawr  

 

Gwynedd  

Llangywer  

 

Llangywer  

290386  

332286  

NE  

Located to N and E of the B4403 in the small hamlet of Llangower.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Recorded in the Taxatio of 1291. The church was visited by John Wynne in 1729, who describes it as being in a somewhat ruinous condition. Recorded as being rebuilt in 1778 and 1782, and restored in 1871.  

Small rural church comprising continuous nave and chancel with S porch and W bellcote. Built of roughly coursed local stone; slate roof with ornate ridge tiles and rendered copings at W gable. Variations in the character of the masonry are clearly visible - much of the N and S walls are of a single build with the evidence of the eavesline being raised (probably in C19). The W end of both walls, however, is much less regular, and blocked openings are visible in the N wall, a doorway to W end and window to E. The E gable wall also shows clearly how the roofline was raised and the W wall is heavily rendered. Large stones are prominent at the base of the walls and as quoins and lintels; freestone dressings to E gable window. All windows have C19 timber frames, the E window has 3 trefoil headed lights in a pointed arched frame and the lateral walls have paired trefoil headed lights in square headed windows, probably C18, a stone above the central window in the S wall bears the date 1773. The porch has a pointed arched outer doorway of narrow voussoirs, the keystone bears the date 1866; the inner doorway has a boarded door with broad hinges.  

The church has an exposed roof of 4 bays with arch braced collared trusses down to wall posts on shaped corbels. The fittings are C19 but the font pillar and base are C15; the bowl may be older. The E window bears a depiction of St. Gwawr and the easternmost window in the S wall St. Margaret.  

Listed as a small rural church that retains significant elements of the original Medieval church, and simple Victorian character.