St Dona’s Church, Llanddona
This coastal church was rebuilt in the 1870s on the site of an earlier one. A church here was recorded in 1254. The church is dedicated to the 7th-century saint Dona, son of Selyf.
Some elements of the earlier church are still visible, including a stone doorway from the 15th century. Above the east window is a stone with the date 1566, upside down! The font is medieval.
The church was in disrepair – the roof being close to collapse – when Rev Peter Jones (known as Pedr Arfon) became the rector in 1870. In 1872 he got a £35 grant from Bangor diocese towards the church’s rebuilding, which was completed in 18 months. Fundraising was challenging in a rural area where many people worshipped in chapels. Peter saved money by designing the new church himself and acting as clerk of works and as secretary and treasurer of the rebuilding fund! The project cost just over £600.
The church made headlines in 1905 when the renowned Methodist preacher Evan Roberts preached here, at Peter’s invitation. This was the first time Evan had preached in an Anglican church since he sparked the 1904-05 Revival in Wales and beyond. There was still considerable enmity between chapel and church at the time in Wales.
St Dona’s Church couldn’t accommodate everyone who came to listen. Peter explained that the Bishop of Bangor hadn’t said anything against Evan preaching in the church, and it made no difference if someone worshipped in church or chapel. The event brought some people back into the Christian fold.
Peter Jones hailed from Caernarfonshire and went to school in Birkenhead. He was ordained in 1868. He remained rector of Llanddona from 1870 until his death in September 1914, aged 78.
Buried in the churchyard is Australian jockey Robert Everett, who won the Grand National in 1929 and died in 1942 when his fighter plane crashed onto Llanddona beach.
Postcode: LL58 8UT View Location Map