St Cadwaladr's Church is located in the hamlet of Llangadwaladr, between the villages of Newborough and Malltraeth on the
A4080 road in the west of Anglesey, North Wales. St Cadwaladr, to whom the church is dedicated may well have been a prince of the royal house of Gwynedd, who died in AD 664, and from whom the Tudor dynasty claim to be descendants. Nothing survives of the church of Cadwaladr's day indeed the earliest
church would probably have been built of wood, for St Cadwaladr's was once called Eglwys Ail – the Wattle Church. The
present stone building is of perpendicular style and has various dates of construction including: the nave - 12th to
early 13th Century; chancel - 14th Century; north chapel - 1640; south chapel - 1661; south porch - added during
restorations in 1856.

The church contains some of the best ecclesiastical architecture in the county
of Anglesey. The
south chapel, built by Anne, widow of Col. Hugh Owen of Bodowen, is a splendid
example of very late Gothic; their
Renaissance memorial is very fine, and the east window in the chancel contains
the only medieval glass to survive in
quantity on Anglesey.
The magnificent window was the gift of Meuric ap Llywelyn and his wife in thanks
giving for their son Owain’s safe return from the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Externally the church offers fine examples of 19th century stone carving with
a number of gargoyles built into the east and north walls. It is such a shame
that inappropriate work has been undertaken, redirecting the water via modern
gutter boxes.
But St Cadwaladr's is most renowned as the home to the Cadfan Stone, sometimes
known as the Catamanus stone. Found close to the site the 7th Century inscribed
stone, built into the church wall opposite the porch, commemorates King Cadfan
of Gwynedd, Cadwaladr’s grandfather. It is the most important gravestone in Anglesey
and it demonstrates that the site was the burial ground associated with the royal
court at Aberffraw some mile or so to the north.
The inscription refers to one
of the early kings of Gwynedd - Cadfan - who died about AD 625 - thus providing
a key to dating other similar stones where a similar style is used. The lettering
is a mixture of Roman capitals and half-uncials, a manuscript hand. The phraseology
reflects the standards of elegance and learning at the Court of Gwynedd in the
7th Century. Translated to English it reads "King Catamus (Cadfan in Welsh) wisest and most
renowned of all kings lies here"
CHURCH
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