St Mary
Conwy, Clwyd
Tranquillity and history at the heart of the walled town.
A medieval parish church thought to occupy an earlier Christian site, hidden away next to the Gyffin stream just outside Conwy town walls.
The porch has a medieval timber frame and the door has medieval hinges and 17th-century graffiti. Also within the porch are two tomb slabs from the 13th century. The Latin inscription on the smaller one states that “Llywelyn ab Iorwerth lies here (the first Prince of Wales) who's tomb was removed from Aberconwy Abbey (now St Mary's church) by Edward I, however, the slab at Gyffin is too small to cover the prince’s reputed stone sarcophagus in St Grwst's church, Llanrwst.
During the church renovation in the 1850s whitewash was removed from the vaulted ceiling panels in the sanctuary to reveal paintings from around the 15th century. The font dates from the 13th century. Richard Davies was baptised here, as his father Dafydd ap Gronw was curate of Gyffin. As Bishop of St Davids, Richard Davies invited William Salesbury to assist with the first Welsh translation of the New Testament, published in 1567. Both names can be seen on the Bible translators’ memorial outside St Asaph Cathedral.