St
Marys and St Nicholas Church Beaumaris
is to be found in the
heart of the medieval t  own
of Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey North Wales.
Built during the 14th century soon after the construction of Beaumaris
Castle, its main purpose was to serve the burgesses
of the walled town. Parts of the church were built at different times:
the nave, west tower and north and south aisles were built in the
14th century, whilst the chancel was rebuilt circa 1500.
The stone tomb of Princess
Joan of Wales (Siwan in Welsh) is a fascinating
monument situated in the south aisle of the church. Joan was the
legitimate daughter of King John, king of England during the late
12th century, and was married to Llywelyn the Great, then Prince
of Wales, at the age of twelve. Joan died in February 1237 and
originally Llywelyn had her buried in a Franciscan Friary he founded
in Llanfaes, just north of Beaumaris and which he could see from
his palace in Abergwyngregyn. However, when he died in 1240, Llywelyn
was not buried with his wife, but at Aberconwy Abbey, where he
had retired to during the last few years of his life. Tragically,
the Friary was destroyed in 1537 by Henry VIII’s clergymen as part
of the dissolution of the monasteries, and for years Joan’s
tomb was used by horses as a water trough. Thankfully, today it has
been moved to the church, where it can be visited and admired by
many who come to see it and commemorate the life of Joan.
It is not only Joan’s tomb that lies in the
church. In the west end of the north aisle lies an alabaster tomb of  William
Bulkeley, who died circa 1490 and his wife Elin, the daughter of Gwilym
ap Gruffydd of Penrhyn. Although they don’t carry as much of
a story as Joan’s
tomb, the tomb is very impressive, with the alabaster ‘bodies’ of
William and Elin lying side by side creating an aura of romance within
the church.
The church is adorned with amazing carvings on the
misericords, all carrying a moral message. The faces of the carvings
are extremely detailed and while it is unknown who made them, it is
likely that they were skilled craftsmen working for Edward I following
his conquest on Wales in 1282. The carvings include, amongst many others,
a bearded pope, a woman balancing two pints on her head, a woman
wearing a large crown, hood and wimple, a woman with a crown of roses
on her head and another of two working women.
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