St Garmon's Church, Llanarmon-yn-Iâl

St Garmon's Church, Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, is in the centre of the village of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Denbighshire, Wales. It is an active Anglican church in the diocese of St Asaph, the archdeaconry of St Asaph and the deanery of Dyffryn Clwyd. The church is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.HistoryThe church dates from 1282 and a second nave was added about 1450. Much of the church was rebuilt in 1736 and around this time Edward Whetnall, a carpenter from Wrexham, replaced the stone arcade between the two naves with an arcade in timber. In 1759 a gallery was built at the west end of the south nave, and this was extended in 1781. It is likely that the porch was enlarged in 1774. In 1870 the church was restored by John Douglas, adding some Gothic-style windows and bracing to the colonnade. Also the box pews were removed, and it is likely that the gallery was also removed at this time. There were further restorations in 1906, in the late 1920s, and in the 1970s.ArchitectureExteriorThe church is built in stone, mainly limestone with some sandstone. The roof is of slates with grey ridge tiles. Its plan consists of a double nave. The north nave is wider than the south and at its east end is the chancel. The south nave acts as an aisle, with its east end partitioned to act as a vestry. There is a south porch and a bellcote at the west end over the north nave. The porch has a ball finial and sandstone ridge tiles. The bellcote has apertures for two bells. The division between the north nave and the chancel is marked by a buttress. The medieval arch-braced roofs are still present. Some round-headed windows remain from the 1736 restoration. Other windows are Gothic in style and probably date from Douglas' restoration.