St Cynog's Church

St Cynog's Church in Defynnog contains an ancient stone with Ogham inscriptions. Though most of the attractive building we see today is 15th century, the origins of St Cynog's go back to at least the Norman period if not earlier. There is 11th century stonework in the north vestry wall, and the font and holy water stoup may be 11th century or possibly even pre-Norman. The richly carved font is inscribed with Runic letters, the only example in Wales of a Runic inscription.

The churchyard contains several yew trees, of which the largest has a girth large enough for it to be 1300–3000 years old. An adjacent yew was reported in 2014 to be genetically identical to the largest, leading to conjecture in the popular press that the two trees were remnants of a single 5000-year-old tree; but this conjecture has been disputed on the grounds that layering is a more plausible origin for the adjacent tree. The crown of the largest tree is 60 ft in diameter.

Address
A4067 8, Defynnog, Brecon, United Kingdom

Established
11th century