St Beuno's Church, Berriew

St Beuno’s Church is the parish church of Berriew, in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The church stands in an almost oval churchyard in the centre of the village. The original church was a single-chamber, with a wooden west bellcote and a northchancel chapel. This church was replaced in 1803-4 with a larger brick church by the architect John Hiram Haycock of Shrewsbury. It was of brick with stone dressings, and had the entry under a pinnacled west tower to a galleried nave with four round-headed windows a side. The church was largely rebuilt by his grandson, Edward Haycock, Junior in 1876. It consists of a nave, aisles, chancel, north porch, and west tower The west tower has the doorway blocked, stone facing for brick, and Gothic windows, except for the circular ones on its second stage.Saint BeunoSt Beuno was a Celtic saint who died c. 640 AD. A life of the saint survives. He was sent to study under St Tangusius or Tatheus at the Roman settlement of Caerwent near Newport. He was then given land in Aberhiew (Berriew) by Mawn ap Brochwel a descendant of Brochwel Ysgithrog, on which he would have founded this church. He performed many miracles and founded other churches in Powys and North East Wales, before moving to Clynnog Fawr in Caernarfonshire, where he founded the monastery at Clynnog Fawr for which he was mainly remembered. He was clearly much venerated in Berriew and St Bueno’s stone stands by Dyffryn lane close to the River Severn.