St Helen, Penisarwaun

About the church

St Helen’s Church stands at the west end of the village of Penisarwaun, which means ‘the lower top on the moorland’. The undulating landscape, crisscrossed by narrow lanes, is in marked contrast to the mountains beyond. The village war memorial stands on the south side of the church, from where the views of Yr Wyddfa may include the sight of the mountain railway puffing its way to the summit. The church hall next door was refurbished via S4C’s ‘Prosiect Pum Mil’ and is available for hire.

Visiting the church

The church is usually open for visiting on a Monday and at other times by arrangement.

We meet for a Communion Service at 11am every Sunday, apart from the 1st in the month when we have Morning Prayer. Services are bilingual and are always followed by refreshments in the church hall next door. The hall also hosts a popular weekly gathering, Tea & Toast, every Monday 10am – midday.

A bit of history

St Helen’s Church was built as a ‘mission church’ in 1883 apparently in response to the fears of George Duff Assheton-Smith (owner of Dinorwig Quarry) that the villagers might lose the habit of regular worship or even start going to chapel! The building is modest in scale but beautiful in detail, especially the chancel tiles and the unusual brick walls, patterned red and yellow. The dedication to St Helen is sometimes assumed to mean Helena of Constantinople, mother of the Emperor Constantine. In fact, the reference is to Elen, wife of Macsen Wledig (Marcus Maximus, 4th century ruler of the western Roman Empire), who had strong links to the area.