In the dry summer of 2006, cropmarks of a plough-levelled medieval church were discovered during Royal Commission aerial reconnaissance along the northern reaches of the Vale of Conwy/Dyffryn Conwy, at Llwydfaen. This unusual discovery correlated with a documentary record for a medieval township of the same name on the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust's (GAT) Historic Environment Record (HER).

The visible remains of the township chiefly occur in a single, large field to the north of the present Llwydfaen farm which contains the buried church at its southern end, and parchmarks of a metalled road and occasional building foundations in the central and northern part. The central part of the field is bisected by parchmarks of an east-west former road or trackway, now buried beneath the ploughsoil. It is metalled in its central and eastern part, but appears to survive as a sunken holloway in its western part. At its eastern end it splits in a 'V' shaped junction. In the adjacent field to the west (SH 7880 7285), the holloway has a junction with a southern track and feint cropmarks may show the remnants of house platforms or other structures here. Other prominent remains in the main field showing as cropmarks comprise remains of two building foundations at SH 7892 7282 and to the north at SH 7901 7289. To the east, in the lower-lying part of the field in fairly boggy ground are cropmarks of an angular enclosure against the lower field wall, with two rectangular stone features in its southern half, conceivably buried slabs or stony foundations. Short lengths of at least two further north-south metalled roads can be seen in the southern part of the main field, between the main east-west road and the church. No above-ground remains of the buildings or road were noted during fieldwork, although the farmer noted that the east-west road was sometimes visible at ground level during droughts. Two fragments of possible dressed stone incorporated into the south-eastern field wall have been recorded but neither are terribly convincing as examples of medieval masonry.

The church may have been established around 1088 during attempts by Hugh of Avranches, earl of Chester, and his cousin Robert of Rhuddlan, to extend Norman control into Gwynedd; the pristine outline of its buried foundations suggests that the church may never have been completed beyond its footings.

Reference:
Driver, T. & Hopewell, D, 2009. A medieval church and township re-discovered at Llwydfaen, Caerhun, Conwy. Archaeology in Wales 48 (2008), 77-81.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 28th October 2008.