Efenechtyd () is a hamlet and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in a deep valley in
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
which contains the Church of St Michael and All Angels. The community includes the village of
Pwllglas
Pwllglas (or Pwll-glâs) is a village in Denbighshire, Wales, near the town of Ruthin, and in the community of Efenechtyd.
Pwllglas is on the A494, which runs through the middle of the village, and contains three cul-de-sacs: Erw Las, Dyffry ...
. Efenechtyd is also the name of an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
.
Governance
The Efenechtyd
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
elects a county councillor to site on
Denbighshire County Council
Denbighshire County Council is the unitary authority, unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall, Ruthin, County Hall in Ruthin. Ther ...
. This ward stretches to the south-west of Efenechtyd with a total population taken at the
2011 census of 1,686, the community population being 655.
Church of St Michael and All Angels
St Michael's is the tiny church of Efenechtyd. At twenty feet wide, St Michael's is the second smallest church in the diocese of
St Asaph
St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...
.
[Site 4 - Efenechtyd - Church of St Michael and All Angels]
Medieval-Wales.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
The circular churchyard suggests Celtic origins. The church may have been founded by monks from St Saeran's at
Llanynys and probably dates from the 13th century. The east window probably dates from c. 1400.
The church's most notable feature is its rare medieval wooden font, probably of 15th or 16th-century origin, similar to the stone fonts fashionable at that time. It is made from a single circular oak block with fourteen facets over a ring of beading. Similarly the battlemented rail near the altar is also late medieval and part of a rood screen.
Another notable feature includes a fragment of a Welsh wall-painted Ten Commandments, probably Elizabethan or Jacobean. Monuments include a painted timber memorial to Catherine Lloyd (1810) and a Georgian monument to Joseph Conway of Plas-yn-Llan, near the churchyard gate.
The church was extensively restored in 1873.
The rounded stone by the font is the ‘Maen Camp’, formerly used at the local ‘campau’ (‘Sports’) on St. Michael's Day, 29 September. Village Samsons strove to hurl it backwards over their heads.
The custom of throwing the Feat Stone has been revived in recent years and takes place at the Harvest Festival celebrations.
accessdate=2013-11-31], Maen Camp 2013
References
Living Paths
{{Dual, source=medieval-wales.com/index.php, sourcepath=http://medieval-wales.com/site_18_Efenechtyd.php, sourcearticle=Efenechtyd, date=28 April 2011
Populated places in Denbighshire
Wards of Denbighshire