Medieval churches and other religious sites built by the native Welsh rulers and/or the native Welsh people

For the last year or so I have been making an interactive map of all the churches in Wales with links to the medieval period.

Throughout all this, I have come across people who claim that nearly all historical Welsh churches were built by the Normans (English).
This isn't even close to being true. The majority of the most historical sites seem to have been built by the Welsh themselves. The Welsh kings and princes were very active in building religious sites and many still stand today.

Here are some of my favourites that were built by the Welsh.
I will add more at a later date

Llewelyn’s Church Llanrhychwyn

"Llanrhychwyn's main claim to fame is its parish church, which many claim is the oldest in Wales, marking the site where Rhychwyn originally established his church in the 6th century. The church is known locally as Llewelyn’s Church, and the oldest part dates from the late 11th century.

Llywelyn Fawr, Prince of Gwynedd and de facto Prince of Wales, had a hunting lodge in Trefriw, close to Llanrhychwyn, known in documents as 'Y Ty Du'. Llywelyn married Siwan or Joan a daughter of King John of England in 1205. In about 1230 Llywelyn endowed another church for the local community living on the valley bottom in the commotal centre, on the site where St Mary's, Trefriw now stands. Llywelyn and Siwan are portrayed in a remarkable stained glass window in the church, as are Rhychwyn and David in a window dating from 1533. An inscription in Latin asks for prayers for the dono. "

Llangelynnin

"Llangelynnin is dedicated to Saint Celynin, who lived in the 6th century and probably established the first religious settlement here. It lies at a height of about 280 metres (920 ft) feet, above the village of Henryd in the Conwy valley, in the shelter of Tal y Fan(610 metres, 2,001 ft), the mountain to the south-west."

Church of the Holy Cross at Mwnt

"The Church of the Holy Cross (Welsh: Eglwys y Grog) is an example of a medieval sailor's chapel of ease. The site is said to have been used since the Age of the Saints, but the present building is probably 14th century. It has an example of a 12th or 13th century font made of Preseli stone. "

St Cwyfan's Church, Llangwyfan

Another remote one, "dating from the 12th century, St Cwyfan's church is dedicated to Saint Kevin, who founded the monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.The church originally stood at the end of a peninsula between two bays, Porth Cwyfan and Porth China. In later years the sea slowly eroded around the coast in the two bays, therefore the peninsula was cut off, turning Cribinau into a small tidal island. As a consequence, a causeway was built to the island to allow the local population to get to the church."

Bangor Cathedral

The site of Bangor Cathedral was originally occupied by St Deiniol's Monastery, established in the 6th century around 530 on land given by the king of Gwynedd, Maelgwn Gwynedd. Deiniol is said to have been consecrated as a bishop by Saint David, making him the first Bishop of Bangor. This monastery was sacked in 634 and again in 1073.

Valle Crucis Abbey

Valle Crucis Abbey was founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, on the site of a temporary wooden church and was the last Cistercian monastery to be built in Wales. Founded in the principality of Powys Fadog, Valle Crucis was the spiritual centre of the region, while Dinas Bran was the political stronghold. The abbey took its name from the nearby Pillar of Eliseg, which was erected four centuries earlier by Cyngen ap Cadell, King of Powys in memory of his great-grandfather, Elisedd ap Gwylog.

Cymer Abbey

It was founded in 1158-9 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the patronage of Maredudd ap Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd (d. 1212), Lord of Merioneth (grandson of Owain Gwynedd), and of his brother, Gruffudd ap Cynan, prince of N. Wales (d. 1200). It was a daughter house of Abbeycwmhir in Powys.

Penmon Priory

The monastery (called St. Seiriol's monastery) grew in size and had a wooden church building by the 10th century. This wooden building was, however, destroyed in 971[3] and then rebuilt in the 12th century in stone, from 1120 to 1123.[16] The oldest parts of the Priory Church of St Seiriol date to 1140. It survived the initial Norman invasion of Gwynedd between 1081 and 1100, defended by Prince Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd.

Llywelyn Fawr and his successors made the church wealthy, giving it land. This was taken away at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 but the church survived. The priory was in decline before 1536 in any event and had only the Prior and two other members at that time.

Church of St Hywyn, Aberdaron

"There has been a place of Christian worship at the edge of the sea at Aberdaron since the fifth century. At first, a simple wooden structure housed both Hywyn and his prayer cell where the Gospel was preached to the few villagers whose humble cottages clung to the side of the cliffs and whose livelihood depended on the sea and the few acres of soil in which they grew crops. 

Cadfan, the warrior saint, who travelled from Brittany with Hywyn, moved on to Enlli, the island off the tip of the Llŷn peninsula. There he set up a religious house, later to be dedicated to St Mary. To both men these were places of their resurrection. Places where they felt God had called them to live, to pray and to die.


The title 'saint' in the Celtic church was not a title of honour but indicated that the person was a Christian.


In 1137, Gruffydd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, began erecting stone churches to replace the wooden buildings in the most important parishes and so the oldest portion of St Hywyn's Church dates from this time. It became a sanctuary church within which, on the stone chair called the chair of peace, disputes could be settled and no fugitive could be ejected for 40 days and nights."

Abaty Cwm Hir

Cwmhir Abbey (Welsh: Abaty Cwm Hir), near Llandrindod Wells in Powys, is a WelshCistercian monastery founded in 1176 by Cadwallon ap Madog. A spurious tale was later recorded that the abbey was founded in 1143 by Meredudd ap Maelgwn at Ty-faenor, and then refounded at the present location near the village of Abbeycwmhir in 1176. There does appear to be a site movement from Ty-faenor, but Maredudd ap Maelgwn was prince of Maelienydd in 1215 under Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd, who then controlled the district. The later charter to the abbey in 1215 caused the confusion and led to the belief that Maredudd had founded the abbey in 1143.

Strata Florida Abbey

One of the most important sites in the whole history of Wales

"Rhys ap Gruffudd was said to have loved and cherished his abbey in the 'Vale of Flowers' and gave them huge tracts of land. The monks focussed much of their attention of turning these gifts of land to pastoralism and raised large herds of cattle, horses, and sheep.

They also cultivated large estates in the low-lying valleys that stretched to the sea, and built roads and bridges to ease transportation throughout their far-flung estates. The extent of the abbey's farming can be seen in the fact that by the end of the 13th century the monks of Strata Florida ran no fewer than 15 granges, or outlying farms. "

"The building of the new church began apparently in 1184. The abbey received continued support from the princely descendants of Rhys, who granted the abbey extensive estates in the surrounding rich pasture lands, and further afield in Carmarthen and Powys. These lands, used for the large flocks of sheep for which the Cistercians became famed, produced much of the income for running the abbey. Perhaps due to this patronage, the abbey, with its series of Welsh abbots, soon became renowned as a centre for Welsh scholarship. The Welsh annals later known as the Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes) may have been compiled here. They record the close association between the abbey and the house of Deheubarth, and the fact that, during the late 13th century, many of its princes were brought to the abbey for burial. The abbey had a great cultural influence in medieval Wales and even now its name is associated with Welsh scholarship. "

St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn

St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, in Wales. A church is said to have been founded here by St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. The church was extended in the 14th century, with further changes over the coming years. It contains a 12th-century font and a 14th-century memorial stone to Iestyn, from the same workshop as the stone to St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo.

St. Peters Church of Llanbedrog

The village gets its name because of the establishment of the Church, which is attributed to St. Pedrog who lived in the 6th century. Llan is an old Welsh word meaning an enclosure, and so was used to denote the land on which churches were built. The first letter of the saint's name is mutated to B.
According to ancient legends, Pedrog was a prince who renounced his rights to inherit his father's kingdom and became a monk in Bodmin in Cornwall. From there he went on his missionary journeys. The position of churches bearing his name, nearly always near the coast, reminds us that in those days travelling was done mainly by sea. He is one of the chief saints of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, and also of Brittany. He is the patron saint of two other Churches in Wales, St. Petrox near Pembroke and Ferwig near Cardigan.

St. Aelhaearn Church Llanaelhaearn

The church is dedicated to St Aelhaearn, servant to St Beuno of Clynnog, who was torn to pieces by wild animals but reassembled by the saint, his brow, being lost, was replaced by a piece of iron. The church is of medieval origin,

St David's Cathedral

St Davids is one of the great historic shrines of Christendom. Nowhere in Britain is there a more ancient cathedral settlement, for it reaches back fourteen centuries and survived the plunder of the Norsmen in the 'Dark Ages'. St David chose this wild, beautiful region as the site of his monastery in the 6th century and you will find his shrine in the purple-stoned cathedral, which nestles inconspicuously in a grassy hollow beneath the rooftops of the tiny city.

St Mary and St Bodfan Church

This church dates from the early thirteenth century. One of its great benefactors was Hywel ap Meredydd ap Cynan, the Lord of Ardudwy, the commot which has given its name to the Rural Deanery of Ardudwy in which the Parish of Llanaber is situated. Hywel was a great-grandson of Owain Gwynedd and a near relative of Llewelyn the Great,










###OTHERS TO ADD###

Llantarnam abbey or Caerleon as it was originally known, was founded by Hywel ab Iorwerth, lord of Caerleon (d. c. 1215).

ST MARY'S CHURCH, TREFRHIW , built by Llywelyn fawr. Replaced by a more modern church
Beddgelert Priory was founded by or in association with the princes of Gwynedd 

St. Mary’s Church, Llanllugan, formerly attached to the Cistercian nunnery founded by Maredudd ap Robert

Strata Marcella

as founded in 1170 by Owain Cyfeiliog Prince of Powys, as a daughter house of the Abbey at Whitland.