St Afan's Church

The original church on the site is credited to Saint Afan in the 6th century. Gerald of Wales, the 12th century clergyman and historian, told a tale of "what happened, in the reign of Henry I, King of the English, to the castellan of Radnor castle, in the territory of Builth, which is not far away, being adjacent to his own lands, which he himself had conquered". This man and his dogs spent a night in the church of Saint Afan. They had been hunting near Builth. At first light the knight awoke to find that all his dogs had gone mad and he himself was completely blind. The blind knight joined the crusade and went to Jerusalem where he was led into battle and died an honourable death. During…

The present structure was remodelled in 1832. It is unclear when it was originally constructed, although a structure most probably existed much further back in time as the lands surrounding the church have belonged to the Vaughan family of Trawsgoed and their decadents since the 1200. As explained by Samuel Lewis, 1833: <blockquote> The church is an ancient structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and south transept; part of the ancient screen which separated the chancel from the nave is still remaining, and exhibits an elegant specimen of carved work; the ancient font, octangular in form, is also preserved. Among the communion plate is a curious ancient dish of silver, gilt, and embossed…