St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn

St Iestyn's Church stands in a churchyard in a rural part of eastern Anglesey, near the village of Llanddona. The date of foundation of the church is unknown. Geraint Jones, author of a 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey, notes that it is thought that St Iestyn, a nephew of the Anglesey saint St Cybi, established a religious community in this place in the 7th century. It was the last of the churches that he established. It is known that there was a church here before 1254 as it is recorded in the Norwich Valuation of that year. The oldest parts of the building, including the blocked west door, date back to the 12th century. There was an extension to the chancel, probably in the 14th…

The church was built using rough rubble masonry with stone copings, with some parts covered in render. The internal walls have been whitewashed. The west wall of the south transept holds a late-14th-century carved effigy stone of St Iestyn; he wears a hooded cloak with a brooch, holding a staff in his right hand and an inscribed scroll in his left. He is bearded and has the appearance of a hermit, The inscription reads ' ("Here lies Iestyn to whom Gwenllian ferch Madog and Gruffydd ap Gwilym offered this image for the health of their souls"). There is an 18th-century stone tablet recording benefactions to the poor of the parish on the north wall of the chancel. The communion table and rails…