St Asaph & St Kentigern

Set in wide churchyard lawns at the bottom of the High Street, the medieval parish church of St Asaph is a place of peace and reflection hallowed by centuries of prayer. The church is dedicated to the founders of the Christian community in St Asaph, St Kentigern and St Asaph. Typical of Vale of Clwyd churches, its architecture consists of two parallel aisles separated by a 5 arch arcade.

The church was originally built in the 13th century and was recorded with the cathedral in the Norwich Taxation of 1254. Today’s building is thought to have been reconstructed on the old foundations in 1524, when new windows were incorporated and it was reroofed with the present striking hammerbeams. The north aisle was added later in the 16th century, also with a hammerbeam roof. In 1629-30, the south porch suffered irreparable damage in storms and was rebuilt, and in 1687 a new south doorway was inserted.

The present day porch, bellcote and vestry were added in 1872 under the direction of the renowned Sir George Gilbert Scott as is most of the internal woodwork. The lancet window is medieval with an inscription, 1614. All the other stained glass windows are Victorian, some by Richard Kempe. There are interesting, wall mounted monuments, including a memorial dated 1695/6, bearing a skull and cross bones which is believed to signify the resurrection. The water stoop, currently in use as the font, is believed to date from the 13th or 14th century.

The polygonal churchyard implies an ancient site, and was closed for burials in 1871. A number of the gravestones date to the 17th to 19th century, with the earliest slab being of the bard of Wigfair, Sion Tudur, a bodyguard of Queen Elizabeth I. He was buried on 5th April  1602. Also buried here is Dic Aberdaron (Richard Robert Jones, 1780-1843), a polyglot enigmatic Welsh scholar and tramp, who reputedly spoke 15 languages and who occupied himself during 1831 and 1832 by compiling his Welsh-Greek-Hebrew dictionary.

There are poignant memorials to be noted, including one dedicated to a St Asaph resident who died at a young age in Sumatra in 1715 as an official in the East India Company (by the pulpit), whilst in the churchyard can be found the grave of the wandering minstrel and poly-linguist Dic Aberdaron.

A sundial stands in the south churchyard, which has a tapering circular stem approximately 1.2m high on a square base. It is claimed as possibly of 16th century origin in the 1987 Listed Building Schedule.

The interior has been renovated sensitively in recent years so that the building can be used not just for church services, but also as a delightful venue for community activities such as choir practices, mother and toddler groups, WI and the very popular weekly Community Fridge.

Come and visit us to experience the peaceful, spiritual atmosphere at this historic site.