The Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan is a medieval church in Anglesey, North Wales. The first church on the site was established in the 7th century. In about 1500 the church was enlarged by the addition of a second nave on the north side. During 1839 till 1843 a new church was built nearby to serve the local community. Much of the building was subsequently demolished, leaving only part of the western end and the central arcade. The remaining parts of the church are a Grade II* listed building.
About Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan in brief
The Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan is a medieval church in Anglesey, North Wales. The first church on the site was established in the 7th century. In about 1500 the church was enlarged by the addition of a second nave on the north side, separated from the earlier nave by an arcade of six arches. During 1839 till 1843 a new church was built nearby to serve the local community, partly due to the cost of repairing the old church. Much of the building was subsequently demolished, leaving only part of the western end and the central arcade. The remaining parts of the church are a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to particularly important buildings of more than special interest. The church and rectory are mentioned in a charter of 1360 as being owned by the priory at Beddgelert, Gwynedd; earlier records have been lost and therefore the date of the acquisition is unknown. The area takes its name from the church: the Welsh word llan originally meant ‘enclosure’ and then ‘church’, and ‘‑idan’ is a modified form of the saint’s name. The oldest section of the present structure, the south nave, dates from medieval times; the north doorway and tracery point to the 14th century; the porch to the north is from the point of view of the 15th-century. It is one of three examples on the island; the others are St Beuno’s Aberffraw and St Cwyfan’s Llanlanidan, and St N Fan’s Llangfan’s En Fan.
It is uncertain whether St Nfan’s is as common in Wales as St Beuno’s is elsewhere in Wales, as it is unclear whether St Fan’s is known as ‘Llangfan’ or ‘St Fan’ in the Welsh language. The decision to demolish it was condemned at the time by Harry Longueville Jones, a clergyman and antiquarian, who lamented the ‘melancholy fate’ of what he called ‘one of the largest and most important in the island ofAnglesey’. A sandstone chest containing bone fragments, possibly are relics of a saint, were found buried beneath the altar. The chest and the church’s 13th- century font were relocated to the new church. A Norman earl, he recounted, had chained it to a large rock and thrown it into the sea, only for the stone to return to the church by the following morning. In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales said that the church possessed a curious stone carving similar to a thigh that would always return by the next day no matter how far away it was taken. The old church was used as a chapel for funerals for a period of time. It has been restored by the owners of the adjoining house, Plas Llanadan, and is occasionally open to the public.
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