St Llechid's Church

Heritage listing

Reason for designation: Included as a typically idiosyncratic early church of Henry Kennedy, architect to the diocese of Bangor from the 1840s until his retirement in 1894. Llanllechid is one of his most distinctive buildings and shows him working in the neo-Norman style favoured during the earlier part of his career. History: Built in 1844 by the diocesan architect, Henry Kennedy to replace the old church, the site of which lies to the east in the present churchyard. Described by Samuel Lewis in 1811 as "a long ancient edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a small chapel or oratory on the south side", the old church was mainly of late C15 or early C16 date. The present building was not admired by architectural critics at the time of its erection, The Ecclesiologist stating that "The western bellcote is Italian, not Norman. This comes of the same architects essaying church architecture who deal in the revived-pagan". The arch-way in the west wall of the porch is claimed to be the main doorway of the old church, reused in its present position. Exterior: Loosely Lombardic Romanesque style comprising nave, chancel, west bellcote, south porch and north vestry. Roughly coursed rubblestone blocks with tooled ashlar dressings, continuous chamfered plinth and cill band; steep-pitched slate roofs with coped verges and strong moulded cornices. Nave buttressed in 5 bays with windows to 4 eastern bays on north and to 3 eastern bays on south, all round-arched with carved capitals to recessed heads; octagonal chimney stack with scalloped top to east gable. West wall has projecting stepped bellcote containing single bell, dated 1752, with broad recessed round-headed window to ground stage flanked by narrower recessed round-headed windows; 4-light window above with crude inte

From Cadw under OGL v3.