Pwt o Hanes
Saif Eglwys Gredifael ychydig oddi ar y ffordd gefn rhwng pentrefi Rhoscefnhir a Phenmynydd mewn llecyn tawel.
Sant o’r chweched ganrif oedd Credifael, a mab i Ithel Hael yn ôl un traddodiad, a dreuliodd gyfnod yn Hendy-gwyn-ar-Daf, canolfan eglwysig yn ne-orllewin Cymru. Yn ôl y diweddar hanesydd R. Cyril Hughes roedd yn gefnder i Tygái. Ei unig sefydliad yw’r eglwys ym Mhenmynydd ac mae’n debyg mai’r enw blaenorol ar y pentref oedd Llangredifael.
Credir fod yr adeilad presennol yn dyddio o’r bedwaredd ganrif ar ddeg er bod olion eglwys flaenorol o’r 12fed ganrif yn ei seiliau. Ychwanegwyd y portsh yn y bymthegfed ganrif. Yn 1536 codwyd capel bychan ar ochr ogleddol yr eglwys ac yn y fan honno gallwch weld beddfaen mawr alabastr, sef bedd Goronwy Fychan, cefnder cyfan i Owain Glyndŵr, a’i wraig Myfanwy. Mae delwau llawn maint o’r ddau ar ben y gist. Bu Goronwy yn Stiward Tiroedd Esgobaeth Bangor ar gyfnod.
Roedd Goronwy hefyd yn hen-ewythr i Owain Tudur, disgynydd teuluoedd diweddarach y Tuduriaid ym Môn. Bu cysylltiad agos iawn rhwng yr eglwys a’r Tuduriaid. Mae Rhosyn Tuduraidd i’w gweld yn ffenest liw fechan y capel a phaentiwyd nenfwd pren y gangell yn lliwiau’r Tuduriaid Brenhinol, sef coch, gwydd a gwyn.
Dim ond yn achlysurol y cynhelir gwasanaethau yn yr eglwys hon.
A Short History
St Gredifael’s Church stands in a quiet spot a few yards away from the minor road linking the villages of Rhoscefnhir and Penmynydd.
Gredifael was a saint from the sixth century. According to one tradition he was the son of Ithel Hael who spent some time at Whitland, an ecclesiastical centre in south west Wales. According to the late local historian R. Cyril Hughes he was a cousin to Tygái. The only establishment named after him is the church at Penmynydd and the village’s previous name apparently was Llangredifael.
The present building is believed to date from the 14th century although traces of a previous church from the 12th century can be seen in its foundations. The porch was added in the 15th century. In 1536 a small chapel was built on the northern side of the church and it is there that a large alabaster tombstone can be seen, the grave of Goronwy Fychan, a cousin of Owain Glyndŵr, and his wife Myfanwy. Full sized effigies of the two can be seen on top of the casket. Goronwy was at one time Bangor Diocese’s Land Steward.
Goronwy was also great-uncle to Owain Tudur, descendant of later Tudor families in Ynys Môn. There was a close relationship between the church and the Tudors. The Tudor Rose can be seen in a small stained glass window in the chapel and the chancel ceiling has been painted in the Royal Tudor colours, red, green and white.
Services are only held occasionally at this church.