NAR SS58NW25

The foundations of a the medieval church or chapel of St Mary.
The was the church of Penmaen and it is thought that a lost medieval village lies beneath the dunes in its vicinity (see NPRN 15435). It was associated with the nearby castle (NPRN 305605) that was finally destroyed in the early thirteenth century, probably in 1217. It is thought that the church had become besanded and was abandoned by 1320.
The church was cleared in 1861 (see Archaeologia Cambrensis 3rd series 7 (1861), 362), when a stone altar, a well preserved piscina and four graves let into the floor were noted.
The visible remains consist of a rectangular stone walled building some 27m east-west by 6.0m. The walls are 0.9m thick and survive up to 1.7m high. The interior is divided between the nave and a smaller chancel.

John Wiles 04.01.08