St Caffo's Church

The date of first construction of a church in Llangaffo (a village in Anglesey about 5 mi south of the county town of Llangefni) is uncertain. The village takes its name from the church: the Welsh word ' originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-gaffo" is a modified form of the saint's name. St Caffo, a 6th-century Christian, was a companion of St Cybi and was martyred by shepherds in the vicinity of what is now Llangaffo, perhaps in revenge for his brother Gildas insulting Maelgwn Gwynedd, the local ruler. It is thought that there may have at one point been a monastery in this location, known as "Merthyr Caffo": merthyr is the Welsh word for "martyr", and in place names means a…

St Caffo's is built of rubble masonry dressed with limestone, in an early English style (a style of architecture used between about 1180 and 1275, typically using narrow pointed windows and arches). The roof is made of slate. The tower, at the west end, has buttresses at the corners and is topped with a broach spire, which is a prominent local landmark. Entrance is through an arched doorway in the north side of the tower. The chancel, at the east end of the church, is smaller than the nave in both height and width; there is a transept on the north side of the chancel. The nave has lancet windows, and there is a further lancet window on the south side of the chancel. The church's east window…