Eglwys St. Dyfnog, Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch

Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch is a village in the Vale of Clwyd, approximately five kilometres to the South-East of Denbigh on the A525. The village church, Eglwys St. Dyfnog is a historic building, having a double nave, a 13th Century tower and an exquisite Medieval ‘Tree of Jesse’ window of superb design and glass quality. During the English Civil War, the glass from the window was removed and hidden in a large dug out chest that was buried in the woods. The window was restored in 1660 and the chest can be seen in the church beneath the window.

There is a strange story associated with the church, concerning one of its buried residents. Anne Parry was a Methodist preacher, the founder of the village Sunday school and a highly regarded member of the community. When she died in 1787 she was buried in the graveyard of the church. Forty-three years later in 1830 her son died and was to be interred in the same plot as his mother. When the grave was dug out, the coffin of Ann Parry was found to be in surprisingly good condition, so it was opened up. Inside, her body was found to be perfectly preserved, and it is said that the flowers that were buried with her were still fresh and fragrant. In 1836 her daughter-in-law was buried in the same grave, and upon opening the coffin again, the body of Ann was said to still be perfectly preserved.