St Aelhaearn’s Church

Located in the village of Llanaelhaearn, the church is named after Aelhaearn, a disciple of Saint Beuno who travelled to the area in the 5th and 6th Centuries. In Wales this period was known as the ‘Age of Saints’ but in England, as ‘The Dark Ages’.

An Early Christian inscribed stone can be found in the north transept, it was discovered in 1865 in a nearby field known as the ‘Saint’s Garden’. The stone is 1.3 metres tall and has a two line vertical inscription in Latin capitals reading ALIORTVS ELMETIACO HICIACIT (Aliortus a man of Elmet lies here). Elmet is a district around Leeds, which was an independent kingdom in 5th Century Britain. There is another Christian inscribed stone near the church gate which reads ME.LIT.V (lies here), and it is thought to be standing in its original position.