This fascinating building is thought to be the smallest church in the British Isles, seating only 6 people. It is named after St. Trillo, a 6th century Celtic saint who built his cell here. The age of the present building is not known, as it has been heavily repaired over the centuries. St. Trillo’s original cell is more likely to have been made of wood and wattle, although he may have built a wall of stones gathered from the beach to protect it from the wind.
Go inside the chapel if it is unlocked. It is on the site of an ancient spring. This provided St. Trillo with his supply of drinking water and would have been an important factor in making him pick this site. You can still see the well in front of the altar.
For centuries this well supplied the water for baptisms all over the extensive medieval parish of Llandrillo. As well as this, in times gone by it also had a long tradition of being a healing well.
Communion services are still held regularly in the Church – it is humbling to think that you are standing on a spot that has been the site of Christian worship for nearly 1500 years!
Celtic monks usually built an enclosure round their cell so that they could farm to feed themselves. This was known as a ‘Llan.’ This is how Llandrillo yn Rhos (the original name of Rhos-on-Sea) got its name. Rhos means marsh, so the name means the ‘Llan of St. Trillo by the marsh.’ The surrounding area would have been marshy, as originally it was an island formed by two branches of the local river.
