There has been a church on this site from the sixth century, the age of the Saints, when St Dyfnog, the patron Saint flourished, which means that for 1,400 years the Christian religion has been established here. St Dyfnog chose the spot because of the well. The water was believed to have great healing properties and the name of the parish, Llanrhaeadr (llan - church, rhaeadr -waterfall) derives from it.

The oldest part of the church, as it now stands, is the thirteenth century tower, solid, squat.

The body of the church is of a pattern frequently found in this part of the country - in Welsh called eglwys ddwbl - a double aisled church - the nave being in two equal portions - put up in the fifteenth century.

The whole building was extensively restored 1879 -1880 (and again 1986-1989).
There is much to see inside the church and a booklet (from which I have taken these few paragraphs) is available with much more information.

A few pictures of the Old Church.

The thirteenth century tower.

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The Holy Well of St. Dyfnog.

The Well is situated behind the graveyard at St. Dyfnog's, a short walk through the woods leads you to a quiet ,wooded dell. The water springs from the hillside in several places and collects in a large spa like pool with steps down into the water for the faithfull.

A medieval Welsh poet said he "reveres Dyfnog's effigy, accepts his miracles, praises his miracle working well, which gives grace to all nations and cures all ills..indeed there was none like it."

The Jesse Window.

"an almost perfect Jesse"

The Jesse window depicts the descent of Our Lord Jesus Christ through the Royal House of Israel - the line of David who was the son of Jesse - "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse and a flower shall rise up out of his root." Isaiah 11: 1 and 2.

The window is seen now pretty much as it was when it was first set into the wall in 1533.
At the bottom of the window Jesse, a full figure is seen, above him is his son King David, holding a harp. On David's right is his son Solomon, and on David's left his grandson , Rehoboam.

The links continue up to Our Lord as a child in the arms of his mother Mary. The virgin and child are rayed with gold - to give them glory.

The window is a truly beautiful piece of craftmanship and the pictures here are but a very poor representation.

An overall view of the jesse window

t Jesse leading to King David

KKing David

A close up view of Jesse.

Directions : [ Map of St Dyfnog's Church location ]                                    

St. Dyfnog's Church is situated just off the A525 between Denbigh and Ruthin in the village of Llanrhaeadr, next to the Anvil Pottery.

Visit the next site.
The Old Church of Llandrillo yn Rhos

or visit the walesdirectory home page for links to other interesting Welsh historical sites