This site is of disputed antiquity. If you have any information that could help clarify this site's authenticity, please post below or leave a post in the forum.
Visited 25th May 2003: We approached from the direction of Maen Pebyll along an interesting little road that runs over the mountain. In the village there were teenagers playing what appeared to be hide and seek, and I was sorry to see that the pub was shut down.
When we arrived we went round the church the wrong way, so my first view of the Four Stones was from the south. My first thought was 'look there's an old stone marked boundary', and I never quite managed to shake this idea off. The stones are very striking despite their medium stature. The Latin carved stone is a bonus, if you like that sort of thing (creative vandalism?). The proximity of the stones to the embankment that leads down from the churchyard down to the River Elwy is interesting, as is the short distance between the church itself and the stones. I wonder what the history of this place is. I think I need to do some reading.
The Four Stones Of Gwytherin were our last stop before Pizza Hut (I know it's not very ethically minded, but there you go) then home.
A tranquil little spot at the centre of the village. Worth a visit en route to or from Capel Garmon. The churchyard itself is worth further investigation - there are three huge, presumably very old, yew trees, two of which it is possible to climb inside, which is nice.
Disputed Antiquity
The National Monument Record describes the inscribed stone as 'Early Medieval'. The dating of the stone row is very vague and open to interpretation.
Julian mentions that one of the stones has a Dark Age inscription 'WINNE something or other' and speculates the link with the name of the church - St. Winnifred. Seems reasonable enough, but the full inscription reads - VINNEMAGLI FILI SENEMAGLI, roughly translated as (The stone) of Vinnemaglus, son of Senemaglus'
However Julian is right in his theory, but more by luck than judgement! The church was indeed dedicated to Saint Winnifred, but not until 1869. Before that it was St. James, before that even, it was St. Eleri.
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