St Michael's
Church is
an ancient church that sits on the banks of the Afon Conwy in the small
inland resort of Betws y Coed, Conwy County, north Wales.
Built in the 14th century St Michael's Church is the oldest building
in Betws-y-Coed but with the coming of
the
Conwy Valley Railway Line the old church was left cut off from
the village and was eventually replaced by the parish church of St Mary's
in 1873. St Michael's lay slumbering peacefully throughout the twentieth
century but by the early 1990's it was in a sorry state, with a leaking
roof and associated plaster damage and
it was urgently in need of repair work. But help was at hand, not from
the official Welsh heritage organisation, Cadw, nor from the Church in
Wales, but from a small group of people known as the Friends of St
Michael’s. The "Friends" raised both awareness of
the building, and money to preserve it. Nowadays hundreds of people visit
St Michael’s in Betws-y-Coed
in beautiful Snowdonia every year, and there are many different reasons
for appreciating this simple and humble building. Visitors from all over
the world come and enjoy the oldest building in the village. I was particularly
fascinated by the
lifesize stone effigy of the local Knight known as Gruffydd ap Dafydd
Goch, grandson
of Dafydd, the brother of Llewelyn ab Gruffydd, the last true Prince
of Wales.
It was a glorious late summers day when I visited the church and the
churchyard with it's beautiful Welsh slate gravestones
and the massive overhanging yew trees still retains the charming
atmosphere that was much appreciated by the many Victorian artists who
visited and painted this beautiful old church in Betws y Coed.
I visited St Michael's church on the day of the 2007 Flower Festival
and although I liked the beautiful display
of flowers I have to say that I appreciated even more the excellent
work of the "Friends of St Michael's" in restoring this
beautiful old church.