St Beuno's Church, Clynnog Fawr

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Fri, 21/11/2025 - 00:00

St Beuno's Church, at Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, North Wales, is one of the most impressive parish churches I have ever seen. Built in the late perpendicular style in the 1480s-1530s, it somehow combines the airiness of that period with the sense of being a rather grim fortress, with its crenelations and towers. On account of the large windows and ubiquitous whitewash, the internals are well illuminated and contain a whole host of treasures which might have occupied several hours of my time, had there been enough of it to spare. A couple of features are worthy of comment here.

The first is St Beuno’s chest, a large wooden coffer into which pilgrims would have made donations. The old Welsh saint was buried on this site, and visitors flocked to come here in order to pray. Contributing to the building’s upkeep is one thing, but they often gave in order to ‘pay’ for certain sins or to help convince God of their high levels of virtue when entry to heaven was being determined.

Another feature, even less pleasant, is a pair of tongs for the ‘handling’ of dogs. In the days when men brought their dogs to church, unleashed, they would wander about, defecating where they pleased, and quarreling with each other. These nasty- looking, extendable, pointed tongs were designed to persuade a dog to relocate or to desist from some activity. I rather have more sympathy for the dogs than their feckless owners, who might have better benefitted from the object’s spikes.

‘Dogs’ have a generally negative press in the New Testament. Take these two references, for example:

Philippians 3:2:

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Revelation 22:15:

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

The first refers to teachers of false doctrine, and the second to doers of evil deeds. The one invariably attends the other, for only the real gospel can make us live in a pleasing way to God. Ironically, those who sold Christ’s salvation for silver coins in that chest were a far more dangerous breed of canine than any furry specimens which fought or pooped in that magnificent church.