St Hilary's Parish Church, Llanrhos

Access to St Hilary's Parish Church, Llanrhos is via a gated lych gate.

Llanrhos Church in Wales is dedicated to St. Hilary and is in the diocese of Saint Asaph. It is the oldest church in the parish of Llanrhos although the church was extensively rebuilt in 1865.

The practice of Christianity here goes back to the mid 6th Century as Maelgwn King of Gwynedd built the original church on this site. He is said to have later sought sanctuary in the church from the great yellow fever that was spreading throughout the country. He prostrated himself before the altar of the church and prayed for his life, but it was to no avail and he died a few days later.

The original church was replaced in about 1282, (one of the church's fonts dates from the Norman period) and although this medieval church was yet again replaced in the 19th Century it is believed that the Nave and Chancel walls were built by monks from the monastery at Maenan Abbey in the Conwy valley and that the present building incorporates the roof beams and several other features of the late medieval church.

The church was extensively restored between 1820 and 1865 with donations from the Mostyn family, the local landowners who lived at nearby Gloddaeth Hall . They still use the family burial plot in the churchyard. Inside the church, on the west wall, are memorials to the Wynne family of Plas Mawr, Conwy, into which the Mostyns married.

The church is surrounded on all sides by extensive burial grounds.

A guide to locating some of the more signifcant graves can be found on the HistoryPoints.org website.

Also known as SS Eleri & Mary it is one of seven churches in the Rectoral Benefice of Rhos-Cystennin in the Diocese of St Asaph. For current information visit the church website.

These photographs © Gerald England were taken on 16th September 2015.

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