St Afan Llanfechan

I had passed this church a few times seeing it sat back of the road. After working out how to get to it I went along to visit the church. I did think I would find little information on it considering how small the village was but there is a page on Wikipedia.
"The present church dates to a refurbishment in 1866. The church is of typical medieval size and plan and this probably reflects the footprint of its predecessor. The 14th century font inside the church presumably comes from this earlier building. The church stands on an unnatural mound, assumed to be the debris of the earlier church, and within a raised churchyard about 45m across.
It was probably attached originally to the church at Llanafan Fawr ('Llanafan the Greater'), records of both churches during the 18th and 19th centuries show that curates from Llanafan Fawr also served Llanfechan. It was attached to the church at Llanganten by the early 20th century.
St Afan was a 5th or 6th century Welsh bishop, who was usually known as Afan Buallt, indicating a connection with the Buallt area. It is not known where or when he was a bishop, but the name by which he was referred suggests his diocese was around Builth in Brycheiniog with his seat at Llanafan Fawr."

First thing you notice is the churchyard is well kept

The West end with it's singe bell

The East end with a family vault

The porch leading to the church itself

Inside the Church  is a single cell with the altar covered in a white cloth

Near the front on either side you find the pulpit and organ

A vase with foliage is displayed on the organ

On the altar is a single candle and the cloth is covered in droppings indicating that bats roost above

From the pulpit you look down the church to the back

The other way you see the altar

From the entrance you can see the whole church

As youleave you pass the  church font which was under a cover when I visited, I replaced it after the photo 

Back outside at the East end and the family vault, nearby is  tomb covered in old headstones

The vault is it's own fenced off area




Looking South across from the East end of the church

Hidden from view under a Yew tree is another forgotten family vault
not far away you can view another family tomb

Some of the older headstones

a tomb made from stone and showing signs of ivy damage

Headstones with footstones

A couple of older headstones on in a deteriorating state with a more moder one in the foreground

Over of the South West side of the churchyard are the more modern headstones

A cross broken off  and leans over on the base of a family vault

 Looking across the South side of the churchyard to the East end of the church and the older heastones and tombs

I will leave you with this view of the church from across the churchyard and wish you  a pleasent weekend till next time