The church of St Rhystud is sited in a large churchyard used as a cemetery at the foot of Church Street in Llanrhystyd. It was built in Decorated style in 1852-4, on the site of the medieval parish church, to designs of R.K.Penson. It retains its medieval tower, now unrecognisable as such having been remade in the nineteenth century with the only stone spire in the county. The church is constructed of squared rubble stone with ashlar dressings and Bath stone tracery, steep slate roofs and ashlar coped gables. It consists of nave and chancel with double Sanctus bellcote between, parallel-roofed south aisle with gabled south porch, west tower with bell-stage and spire, and lean-to north-east vestry.
Inside, the ashlar five-bay arcade of alternate round and octagonal piers lies under a big open nave roof with arched braces on corbels, and pannelled four-sided chancel roof, the south aisle with a scissor rafter roof. The tower has a plastered medieval vault. Fittings include a medieval octagonal plain font on a nineteenth-century base; chancel fittings are of the nineteenth century. Stained glass includes works by Clayton & Bell (1865) and G.Maile Studios (1945).

Capel Cynddilyg, Cwm Mabws (NPRN 419225) was reputedly a chapel of ease to St Rhystud's. In 1936 it was said that an effigy of St Cynddylig was moved from the chapel after its dissolution and placed on the wall of St Rhystud's Church, opposite the font. It was also noted that, some 80 years prior to 1936, an elderly woman known as Nannie Fach bowed her head to the effigy every time she passed into her pew.

Sources include:
Edwards, W., 1936 'Llanrhystyd' Transactions and Archaeological Record, Cardiganshire Antiquarian society, Vol. 11.
Extracts from Cadw Listing description.
T.Lloyd, J.Orbach & R.Scourfield, Buildings of Wales: Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion (2006), p.534.

RCAHMW, 16 July 2015