St. Mary’s, Conwy

Services every Sunday (11am)

Family Service every 1st Sunday, with after school craft club the week before in Neuadd Ni. Email 5churchinfo@gmail.com for how to join the craft club!

Opening Times

St. Mary’s is located in the centre of Conwy, which is a beautiful, medieval-walled town at the mouth of the Conwy river. We are creative, friendly, growing, musical, easy to join, and have great teaching. The church is open to visitors during the summer season from Tuesdays to Saturdays (11am – 3pm) with a trained, volunteer welcome team. If you are interested in joining the welcome team, and meeting people from all over the world, then find out more here and get in touch!

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Sunday Worship (11am)

Services are mainly eucharistic and follow the Church in Wales (2004) Book of Common Prayer. Occasionally, Morning Worship Services are taken by Lay Readers.

Concerts

St. Mary’s has a longstanding musical tradition. As well as a monthly Choral Evensong with Cantorion Celynnin, the children’s choir Canu Conwy sings regularly in church. The Conwy Classical Music Festival is on for a week every July. It was a huge success this year, and ran from 23rd to 29th July. Click here for the programme.

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Plays

The Riding Lights Theatre Company presented ‘INSPIRED – THE WORD INTO ACTION’ on 25th October 2022. The adventurous journey started in the gorgeous garden of Eden (an area of outstanding natural beauty); and ascended via a number of historic people, heritage sites and blockbusting stories about men, women and God; before finishing with an amazing wide-screen glimpse into the end of time.

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Youth With A Mission (YWAM)

20th February was the last Sunday when the international Youth With A Mission (YWAM) team was with us. We thank God for the time that they have been living on the ‘Island Reach’ boat moored on Conwy Quay, and pray for them in their new mission placements.

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Radio Broadcast

Listen to the BBC Radio Wales broadcast from St Mary’s Church on 12th September 2021:

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Visitor Welcome Team

We love to welcome visitors in the heart of the town. For information about visiting and joining our Visitor Welcome Team click here.

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Butterfly Project

During the Summer of 2021, we produced an art installation of butterflies – each capturing people’s thoughts and prayers, reflecting the ‘chrysalis’ of restricted living and protection of covid regulations, to the fragile release as a butterfly – a symbol of hope, transformation and freedom.

images by Mark McNulty

Read an article about the Butterfly Project here

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History

A place of worship and prayer for nearly 850 years, St Mary’s began as a Cistercian Abbey It was the original burial place of Llywelyn the Great. Dechreuodd yr Eglwys Blwyf y Santes Fair a’r Holl Saint fel Abaty’r Mynaich Gwynion yn y 12fed ganrif ac yma oedd man claddu Llywelyn Fawr yn wreiddiol.

Click here for a virtual tour

For its history alone, the Church is widely acknowledged as one of the most significant in North Wales, older than Conwy Castle itself! Click here to watch the development of the castle over the centuries. St. Mary’s Churchyard is an interesting place to visit and includes the grave associated with William Wordsworth’s poem ‘We Are Seven‘

St. Mary’s originated as the church of the Cistercian Abbey of St. Mary and All Saints in Aberconwy, and it was founded by Llywelyn c. 1190. It was the principal religious centre of the Princes of Gwynedd during the last century of Welsh Independence. Llywelyn died at Aberconwy Abbey and was buried there.

Following the conquest of King Edward I, the Abbey was moved up river to Maenan near Llanrwst and was called Maenan Abbey. St. Mary and All Saints’ was rebuilt to become the Parish Church of the new fortified borough of Conwy. Llywelyn’s stone coffin was moved to St. Grwst’s Church in Llanrwst.

In the porch of St. Benedict’s in Gyffin there are two intriguing tomb slabs that date back to the 13th century. The Latin inscription on the smaller one translates to “Llywelyn ap Iorwerth lies here”. Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn Fawr was the first Prince of Wales. His tomb was removed from Aberconwy Abbey by King Edward I. The slab at Gyffin is too small to cover the Prince’s stone sarcophagus located in Llanrwst.

Just outside the town walls, is the St. Agnes Churchyard, where Reverend Morgan is buried. A small iron church dedicated to St. Agnes was built in 1875 and was demolished c. 1972. Reverend Morgan was the vicar of St. Mary’s for over 30 years until 1870. During his time as vicar, the town experienced major changes with the arrival of the Railway, which was completed in 1848. The replacement National School in Rosehill Street was opened c. 1840 soon after he became vicar. Reverend Morgan and Conwy’s Chapel Ministers had great respect for one another, and the East Window at St. Mary’s is a memorial to him.

Click here for more historical information and the treasures of St. Mary’s Church.

See what other visitors have said by clicking here

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Previous Years

Click here for 2019

Click here for 2018

Click here for 2017