St. Myllin's Church, Llanfyllin, was, according to tradition, founded in the seventh century, and the Irish monk, St. Moling, was believed to have been buried beneath the altar. However, the first verifiable record of the church was in 1254, and all physical traces of early buildings have faded from the site. There are surviving plans and images of the earlier building.
The present church was built in 1706-10 in the manner of a Wren-style church hall. Six benefaction boards relating to the 1714 rebuilding and charities are recorded in the church. In 1863 the architect Walter Scott attempted to ‘Normanize’ the church, redesigning the window surrounds in the Romanesque style and adding coloured stained glass. Inside the church he installed a triumphal-arch type chancel screen, decorated arches and elaborate tiling. In 1959 the church was restored to a more austere look, with the removal of much of the wall decoration and the installation of oak panelling.
The embattled church is built from red Llanfyllin-made brick with freestone dressings, and comprises a continuous nave and chancel, west gallery and tower, north organ chamber and vestry, and the south doorway is triangular-pedimented with moulded stone surround. The hipped roof is of Welsh slate.
Sources include:
RCAHMW Inventory Documents
Richard Suggett, Painted Temples: Wallpaintings and Rood-screens in Welsh Churches, 1200–1800, (RCAHMW 2021), pp. 275.
RCAHMW 2022