St Deiniol
Penarlâg, Flintshire
Mae eglwys wedi’i chysegru i Sant Deiniol wedi sefyll ar y safle hwn ers y chweched ganrif. Mae’r gynulleidfa’n ymfalchïo yn y cysylltiad rhwng yr eglwys a theulu y Prif Weinidog Fictoraidd, William Ewart Gladstone.
In fact, the plot for the building was given to the Quakers in 1669 by a sympathetic local landowner, with land for the adjoining burial ground given three years earlier at a time when Quakers were denied burial in parish churchyards.
It is a simple single cell building with stone walls and mullioned windows. The roof is stone slated and supported by a single king post truss; the floor is stone flagged. Apart from some loose benches, the only fitting is the oak minister's stand, where visiting ministers would speak to the meeting, of an unusual panelled design with turned balusters.
In the burial ground there is a row of five table tombs honouring the Myers family, who were the givers of the ground. Most Quaker headstones were of a uniform plain design, so these rare features provide evidence of a commemorative practice that the Quakers subsequently discouraged.
The meeting house has not been in use by the Society of Friends for 150 years and is a remarkable survivor of another age. It is left unlocked and can be visited at any reasonable time; a sign invites visitors to picnic in the grounds.
