Old Church, Llangar

Llangar Old Church, dedicated to All Saints, is a Grade I listed former parish church on the east bank of the River Dee near Cynwyd in Denbighshire, now in the guardianship of Cadw.

Overview

Cadw records a church first mentioned in 1291, with surviving fabric no earlier than the fourteenth century. Substantial rebuilding of the external walls took place in the early seventeenth century, probably between 1615 and 1620; the south porch is dated 1617. The west wall, prone to subsidence, was rebuilt several times, including in the early eighteenth century. The church was replaced by a new church in Cynwyd in 1856 and fell into disrepair; major conservation followed in 1974, including a large stone buttress along the north wall.

The building is a single-chamber nave and chancel with west bellcote and south porch, of large blocks of whitewashed random stone under a slate roof. The interior retains a fifteenth-century arch-braced roof, a west gallery, irregular box pews with Jacobean decoration, a wood-panelled triple pulpit, reading desk and clerk's desk, and a late medieval font set into the wall. Cadw grades the church for its exceptional medieval wall paintings, in at least eight overlapping phases, and a rare complete arrangement of eighteenth-century furnishings. Visits are by arrangement with Cadw staff at Rug Chapel.

Further Information

• Cadw listed building 704
• Cadw: Llangar Old Church
• Coflein: All Saints Church, Llangar