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A Short
History of the Catholic Church in Llandudno
CONTENTS
The booklet and the historical research on which it was based was
largely the work of Mrs. Margaret Amiel and Sister Madeline Dunphy and
it records a remarkable story of faith and continuity.
Saint Tudno and Blessed William Davies
One such seminary was that of SS Dunawd & Deiniol at Bangor Iscoed
on the banks of the River Dee near
Saint Tudno's ancient church with its modern cemetery is built on the
north facing side of the Great Orme over two miles from the modern
resort. It has been heavily restored many times until nothing remains
from Saint Tudno’s day. The church, built and rebuilt by Catholics over
many centuries, achieved its final form in the 15th century, before the
onset of the reformation. The roof blew off in 1839 and it was not
restored until 1855. It has a few ancient features, the font dates from
the 12th century, there are early sepulchral stones, there is a beam in
the chancel wall bearing a carved serpent, and there is a remarkable
medieval carved wooden emblem under the roof high above the chancel
step depicting the 'stigmata' or five wounds of Christ. Such an emblem
surviving in Wales is almost unique, only one other is known and it is
in the neighbouring parish of Llanrhos. Otherwise the furnishings are
modern.
Since the Reformation there have been few records of Catholic
households and the Priests who served them. English influence was very
strong in the area, especially along the road to Holyhead, the main
route to and from Ireland. Here the law was rigorously enforced which
made it difficult for a Priest to minister to his people. Priests had
to move secretly from one Catholic household to another and the
penalties for discovery were cruel torture for the Priests themselves
and also for the households who gave them food and shelter.
Consequently many of the landed families drifted away from the practice
of their religion, anxious to show their loyalty to the Crown, and
safeguard their estates, by conforming to the latest wishes of the
Queen.
It was here in Llandudno that Blessed William Davies worked and it is a
happy circumstance that we share the centenary of this Parish with the
400th anniversary of his martyrdom in 1593. William Davies was born in
Croes yn Eirias, which is now part of Colwyn Bay. In those days it was
a small hamlet included in the parish of Llandrillo yn Rhos. He was
educated at St Edmund’s Hall, Oxford and took his degree in 1582, was
ordained Priest at Rheims in April, 1585 and was sent almost
immediately, at his own request, to serve in the mission in North Wales
where he knew the need for Priests was very great and where he was well
aware of the dangers he faced. He had many friends in this area, people
who had known him since boyhood, but, of course, the very secrecy of
his movements means that few records are available of the families he
served. However, it is known that he was a friend of Robert Pugh of
Penrhyn and that they were linked together in an interesting and
important event on the Little Orme.
From May 1586 life became even more difficult for Catholics. The Queen
was incensed to learn that laws against 'recusants and obstinate
persons in religion' had not been enforced. The local Magistrates were
accused of negligence and ordered to condemn forthwith the unlawful
assembly of Catholics. This was an order that could not be ignored,
even by Magistrates sympathetic to Catholics, but a friendly warning
was given to Robert Pugh and William Davies and they were able to
escape, taking refuge, along with several others, in a cave on the
Little Orme. They remained there in comparative safety for about nine
months and even managed to produce a small book on a printing press
they had hidden there. The book was ‘Y
Drych Gristianogawl’ – ‘The
Christian Mirror’ and its importance lies in the fact that it
was
possibly the first book ever printed in Wales. In April 1587, the cave
was discovered and the local Magistrate, Sir Thomas Mostyn, informed.
He went to the cave with a large band of people but did not enter –
preferring (so it was said) to wait until the following day. He left
several of his own men on guard, but when morning came – it was found
that all the cave dwellers had managed to escape!
.
Nothing more was known of Robert Pugh and William Davies until five
years later, in March 1592, when they were arrested in Holyhead,
Angelsey. They had gone there to assist four student Priests on their
journey to Valladolid in Spain, but all six persons were arrested –
Robert Pugh being the only one to escape. The others were thrown into
Beaumaris Castle dungeons where Father Davies regularly said Mass.
Beaumaris rapidly became a centre for all the Catholics of Angelsey.
William Davies was convicted at the next Beaumaris Assizes of being a
Priest, but popular feeling was so strong in his favour that he was
removed to Ludlow, where attempts were made to represent him as having
conformed. When these attempts failed, he was sent to several other
prisons, before eventually being returned to Beaumaris to be tried
again. At the Assizes he was sentenced to death and put in the 'Black
Alley' in Beaumaris Castle. When the day of his execution came, the
deed had to be postponed until men from Chester could be hired to carry
out the sentence. Not one person in Angelsey would have anything to do
with it! William Davies was butchered on July 27th 1593, and parts of
his body were affixed to the castle gateways of Beaumaris, Conwy and
Caernarfon.
By the 17th Century the Creuddyn Peninsula (site of present day
Llandudno) was almost the last refuge for Catholics in Caernarfonshire,
but in spite of great bravery, fierce determination and great devotion
to the Faith, Catholic families were simply not able to continue to
support each other and their Priests in the face of such terrible
oppression, and so the restoration of Catholicism in North Wales
lapsed; for the time being it slumbered, awaiting the advent of more
tolerant days when Priests and laity might once more openly celebrate
their Faith.
The early days of the Mission in Llandudno are
vividly described in the following extract from the notes of Dean
Mulligan, (Father Jenkins' successor) kindly handed by his nephew,
Father Reilly, to the Llandudno Advertiser and published on May 12th
1906.
"In May 1867 a two-storied building, situated in Ty Gwyn Road, which
had formerly been used for the purpose of Turkish Baths, was purchased
from Mr. Thomas Williams, Chemist, for £350, and the upper storey
adapted to the purpose of a Chapel and the lower one so altered as to
do service for the Priest's residence. While the necessary alterations
to the building were being made, Mass was celebrated in the house of
Michael Costellor in Cwlach Street, for two or three Sundays. The
Chapel was opened for Divine Service in June 1867 and dedicated to Our
Blessed Lady under her title of "Star of the Sea". The Rev. James
Jenkins came to reside in the dwelling rooms under the Chapel as Priest
of the Mission. The number of Catholics then in Llandudno and
neighbourhood was very small, the number attending Mass on Sundays
being under 20 and these few were chiefly servants in the lodging
houses of the town.
"Father Jenkins, who was in feeble health when he came to Llandudno,
died in the Mission Chapel house on 20th. March, 1869 and is buried in
the cemetery of the monastery Pantasaph, Holywell, and he was succeeded
by the Rev. Patrick Mulligan, who was charged with closing down the
Mission."
It was obviously not in Father Mulligan's mind to close down the
Mission. He belonged the same breed of
determined Priests as his predecessors of the 16th and 17th Centuries
who fought against all odds to keep the Faith alive. To Father Mulligan
is credited the first establishment of the Parish, although at first
this progress was agonisingly slow. There were so few Catholics. The
Baptismal Register records an average of only four baptisms per year
for the first ten years of his ministry.
The history is continued in section 2 - Please click the
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