Church of St Mary the Virgin, Llan-y-wern               Grade II* listed

The church of St Mary is a simple single-celled building, attributed to the fourteenth century.  The first foundation here was in the sixth century and was dedicated to St Cynidr, a Catholic pre-congregational saint of South Wales and first Bishop of Glasbury.  St. Cynidr was the son of St. Gwladys and grandson of King Brychan, King of Brycheiniog.  The present dedication of St. Mary the Virgin appeared in the twelfth century. 

The church was formerly a chapel of St John's Priory, Brecon, and presumably because of this it does not feature in any of the main documentary sources of the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.   It has a simple structure with the nave and chancel as a single cell, though the chancel roof is lower, a west porch and small bellcote.  It’s seen some restoration – the bare stone flagged interior retains only a font from the thirteenth century, but there is a collection of eighteenth century memorials.  Underneath the beautifully carved modern oak altar table are six large gravestones forming part of the floor. 

The fourteenth century date is favoured for the nave and chancel, based on the single decorated window in the chancel.  The authenticity of this is however in doubt though of course it may copy an original window.  Certainly much of the original walling has gone and was replaced in slightly more regular masonry, but where it survives there are three square-headed windows and a comparable priest's door, and these are likely to be seventeenth century or even later.  The porch too could be relatively recent from the seventeenth or eighteenth century with a round headed voussoired doorway and flagged floors.

There are scissor-braced trusses to a five sided wagon roof to the nave (similar to Llanfihangel Talyllyn), the chancel roof is lower.  The posts on the wallplate support the angle ribs.  The windows are deeply splayed.  On the west wall is a blocked opening over the door.  The font has a plain bowl with a short stem with an old wood cover with a circular motif.  Other fittings include sympathetic twentieth century light oak pulpit, lectern and altar.  Behind the altar is wainscot panelling dated 1657 with a floral motif to the rail and panels below while in front is a wrought iron and polished oak communion rail.  The chancel has a late medieval lower boarded panelled ceiling with reeded ribs while the beams over the site of the rood retain traces of red paint.  The single manual organ circa 1850 was donated by Mrs Raikes of Treberfydd in 1948.  Such stained glass as there is, is Victorian.

The Church is always open and has easy access.

Churchyard

The surrounding churchyard is small and partly curvilinear. It was, and is, a bog (gwern) hence the name.  Part of the charm of this country Church is the view of the North and West escarpments of the Black Mountains.

The churchyard is well maintained and still used for burial.  Monuments are sparse and lie to the south-west and south-east of the church. There are no pre-nineteenth century gravestones.  There is one yew in the south corner.

A History of the County of Brecknock, by Theophilus Jones; Glanusk Edition, Volume IV, published by the Brecknock Society, 1930
"The church-yard is so wet that frequently in winter the graves are filled with water soon after they are dug up; this many of the inhabitants complain of as a dreadful grievance, and seem to feel a chill at the mention of it, and to apprehend consequences injurious to their bodies deposited here, whereas if they would only take the trouble of digging a trench or gutter of the depth of two or three yards at furthest round the upper or western side of the churchyard, they might all moulder dryly, comfortably and snugly together!"