Llanrwst - St Grwst's Church and Gwydir Chapel
Perpendicular church of 1470, restored in 1884, and chiefly notable for the 17th century Gwydir chapel.
Its exterior dominates the approach to the church, with heavy gothic buttresses and a battlemented roof, to which the main church seems an extension. Inside, the nave is differentiated from the chancel only by a screen and loft.
This work may have been brought from the dissolved Maenan Abbey. While the musicians' loft has lost its saints, the canopy vaulting and filigree openwork in the screen panels are exceptional.
The Gwydir chapel is a church in itself, built in 1633/4 by Sir Richard Wynn of Gwydir, treasurer to Queen Henrietta Maria. The roof is almost flat, known as camber-beam. The Jacobean panelling and decoration show the transition from gothic to renaissance in 17th century British churches. In the chapel is an empty coffin, said to be that of Llywelyn the Great. A knight in armour of c1440 is complete with cushion sword and lion.
The chapel is home to a set of 17th century monuments to the Wynn family. The walls are adorned with a set of memorial brasses of the same period.
Gwydir Chapel: Wynn family monument
Llanrwst - St Grwst's Church and Gwydir Chapel
Perpendicular church of 1470, restored in 1884, and chiefly notable for the 17th century Gwydir chapel.
Its exterior dominates the approach to the church, with heavy gothic buttresses and a battlemented roof, to which the main church seems an extension. Inside, the nave is differentiated from the chancel only by a screen and loft.
This work may have been brought from the dissolved Maenan Abbey. While the musicians' loft has lost its saints, the canopy vaulting and filigree openwork in the screen panels are exceptional.
The Gwydir chapel is a church in itself, built in 1633/4 by Sir Richard Wynn of Gwydir, treasurer to Queen Henrietta Maria. The roof is almost flat, known as camber-beam. The Jacobean panelling and decoration show the transition from gothic to renaissance in 17th century British churches. In the chapel is an empty coffin, said to be that of Llywelyn the Great. A knight in armour of c1440 is complete with cushion sword and lion.
The chapel is home to a set of 17th century monuments to the Wynn family. The walls are adorned with a set of memorial brasses of the same period.
Gwydir Chapel: Wynn family monument