St Cynwyd

Several of the local bards wrote poems in its honour, and it was a popular focal point for pilgrimages. The chancel arch has a squint high above the pulpit which may indicate the position of a rood altar.

Outside the church is a memorial to Ann Thomas, the ‘Maid of Cefn Ydfa’, and her lover Wil Hopcyn. She was the daughter of a wealthy local farmer. Her parents planned to marry her to the son of a local landowner but she fell in love with Wil, who was a humble plasterer but also a fine poet. She was forced to marry the landowner’s son and Wil was compelled to leave the area. In a dream he heard her calling to her; he came home to find her desperately ill, and she died in his arms. Wil Hopkin’s poems to her, including the famous Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn (‘Watching the White Wheat’ the poet says he has watched the wheat ripen but another man will have the harvest), have passed into folk tradition. Ann and Wil are both said to be buried in the church.