St Derfel's Church is famous as the cult centre of St Derfel (Derfyl Gadarn), whose feast day is April 5th. A life-sized medieval wooden statue known as Cefyl Derfel (Derfel's horse), is kept in the north porch, along with a wooden staff. Cefyl Derfel, thought to actually be a stag, is thought to have once been positioned at the feet of a life-sized wooden effigy of St Derfel, dressed in full warrior armour and carrying the wooden staff. In 1538 Cromwell's commissionary for the Diocese of St Asaph claimed that the people had such confidence, hope, and trust in St Derfel that they came on daily pilgrimage to visit the effigy, some with oxen or horses, and some with money. He reported that five or six hundred pilgrims had made offerings on that year's feast day. Because legend stated that the effigy would one day burn down a forest, Cromwell ordered it to be taken to London and used to light the pyre of Jesuit priest, Father John Forest, who was to be burned alive for denying the supremacy of King Henry VIII as head of the Church. Cefyl Derfel remained at St Derfel's, but was decapitated in 1760 on the orders of the rural dean. In this period the statue is said to have been carried to nearby Bryn Saint in procession every Easter Tuesday, where it was used as a makeshift fairground ride. The church is Grade I listed and considered a well-preserved example of a late medieval building.
Picture Ref: DI2011_2302