Grose, in his “Antiquities of England and Wales,” in 1786, writes:
“St. Cybi, the Collegiate Church of Holyhead, stands at the extreme western corner of Holyhead Island, in a quadrangle measuring 220 feet by 130 feet, three sides of which are enclosed by strong walls, seventeen feet high and six thick. The fourth side is open to the sea, having only a parapet, but is defended by steep rocks. At each corner of the wall is an oval tower (two of which are seen in the accompanying view). The entrance to this area is through a rude stone gate, the masonry of which, and also of the walls and towers, is said by Mr. Pennant to be ‘evidently Roman.’ ‘Along the walls,’ he adds ‘are two rows of round holes, about four inches in diameter, which penetrate them. They are like those of Segontium (Caernarvon), and nicely plaistered within.’ The church is dedicated to St. Cybi. It is a handsome embattled edifice, built in the form of a cross. The inside of the porch and the outside part of the transept are rudely ornamented with grotesque figures. On the outside of the last are dragons, and a man leading a bear with a rope, or as some suppose it, Balaam and his Ass, with other now shapeless sculptures.”
“Maelgwyn Gwynedd, who lived about A.D. 580, is said to have founded a college here. This Prince was styled ‘Draco Insularis.’ Perhaps the dragon engraven on the church may allude to him. Others assert that the founder of this college was Hwfa Cynddelew, Lord of Llys Lliven in this island, and of one of the fifteen tribes who lived in the time of Griffith-ap-Conan, Prince of North Wales, and Owen, his son, about the former part of the twelfth century. It certainly was in being before the year 1291, because it was rated in the Lincoln taxation.”
“The head of the college was called Penclos, or Pencolas, and was one of the three spiritual Lords of Anglesey. The Archdeacon of the Isle, and the Abbot of Penmon were the two others.”
“The Latin title of the superior of this college was Rector, as appears by an ancient seal inscribed ‘Sigillum Rectoris et capituli ecclesia de Caer Gybi.’ The number of prebendaries of which this college consisted is not known; but it is certain there were twelve at least, that number being found in the Pension List in 1553 at £1 each. Before the dissolution, the Rector, or Provost, for so he is also styled, had thirty-nine marks; one chaplain had eleven, and the other two the same between them. At the dissolution (26 Henry VIII.) the whole revenues were valued at no more than £24, as stated by both Dugdale and Speed.”
“The King had the gift of the Provostship, which Edward III. bestowed on his chaplain, Thomas de London, under the denomination of the ‘Provostship of his free chapel of Caer Cybe,’ for which the King, in 1351, dispensed with him for services to himself. This college was granted, 7 James I., by that King to Francis Morris and Francis Phillips. It became afterwards the property of Rice Gwynn, Esquire, who, in 1648, bestowed it on Jesus College, Oxford, the great tithes for the maintenance of two fellows and as many scholars; and since that time the parish has been served by a curate nominated by the college. The living is a donative, not in charge, the certified value £35.”
Since Mr. Grose described the Church of St. Cybi with pen and pencil 111 years ago many changes have taken place. The shore below the church has been reclaimed from the sea, the lower churchyard has been added to the original enclosure, a broad road separates it from the present harbour, and where the tide once flowed, under the old churchyard wall, the extensive buildings of the London and North Western Railway Company now stand. Steamers and trains laden with passengers and merchandise passing to and from Ireland and America crowd the once lonely shore; and the town and its population have grown with the growth of trade. The very aspect and dress of the people have changed, the picturesque high-crowned hats and long cloaks have disappeared, only the Welsh language remains, “Yr hen iaith Gymraig,” nor does it diminish its hold on the affections of the people.
The successive changes which the country has undergone have left their mark on St. Cybi’s Church, the most enduring of all the buildings in Caer Gybi. It was rebuilt during the 14th century, during the reign of Edward III., as appears by the arms of England and France cut out in a stone near the porch, and stones are in the walls worked as if belonging to a former building. The east window is of that date. The church was practically rebuilt again in the time of Henry VII., though the beautiful plan then conceived was not fully carried out. The Tudor cognizances are carved on the frieze of the church, under the battlements, with St. Cybi’s name, and the inscription on the north side is still quite legible, “Sanctus Kebius ora pro nobis.” The steeple was rebuilt in the 17th century. The choir in 1713, when the tomb of Roderic ap Owen was discovered, and on the coffin a small brass bell curiously wrought through network; the date of his death was 1175. [16]
The ruins of the chapel (Capel Llan-y-Gwyddel) mentioned as standing south of St. Cybi’s Church, within the enclosure, were converted into a public school by Chancellor Edward Wynn, LL.D., of Bodewryd in Anglesey, who by bond, bearing date November 25th, 1748, endowed it with a capital of £120; “the interest whereof is to be paid annually on the 24th November to a schoolmaster, who is to teach six poor boys of the town to read and write.”
Light is thrown upon the wants and difficulties of the last century, in matters of education, by some letters from the Rev. T. Ellis, Rector of Holyhead, to Chancellor Wynn’s sister, Madame Owen of Penrhos.
In January, 1745, he writes:—“There’s nothing my heart is so much set upon as seeing ye Chancellor’s school brought to perfection, which I hope in God, it will be soon, thro’ yr means, and I really believe it would be ye best work that has been done in ys county for perhaps three hundred years past . . .
“The following old proverbs will be admitted for my excuse,—‘Ple caffo y Cymro, y cais.’ ‘Y neb a fo ddi gwylydd, a fydd ddi golled.’ My humble request is that you’ll be so kind as to send orders pr bearer to finish ye floor of the School, and to plaster and whitewash ye walls, (which look exceeding ugly at present) and to make a large oak table for writing, wch will make ye place quite compleat to the Chancellor’s liking, wn he comes to view it (as I hope he will) after his return from Hereford. I’d not be so bold a beggar and put on ye Irishman in this manner, but for my real concern for ye swarm of children, wch grow in a manner wild for want of schooling, who I hope will thro’ yr means be put in a way of serving God and man. . . . ”
January, 1746:—“As the school is always uppermost in my head and heart, I can’t forbear mentioning it to you, who are so good as to sympathise wth ye Parish and me on its account. I fear the Chancellor thinks me troublesome and is offended at my frequent applications, else I would have been wth you long agoe. What to do I don’t know, I must not speak to him about it, it seems, tho’ as it were ready to burst, in spight of all the patience I preach to myself and others. . . . It is time to give an account of my stewardship of yr four guineas you entrusted to my care for the benefit of this Parish. Out of the first two guineas there went for the Bible £1 4 0, for the folio Common Prayer-book 13s.”