Llanelwy is the Welsh name for the place called St Asaph. It means the sacred religious enclosure on the banks of the River Elwy. It is impossible to give an historically accurate account of the beginnings of Christianity in the early settlement at Llanelwy. Legend and tradition are confusingly mixed and there is no archaeological evidence or written record before the twelfth century. The legend of the founding of the church and monastery between 560 and 573 is to be found in 'The life of St Kentigern' written by Jocelyn, a monk of Furness Abbey c.1180.
