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St Canna's Chair is an early medieval inscribed stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference PE148. The monument sits upon bedrock of Arenig Rocks, a formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone dating to the Arenigian period. These hard, ancient stones have provided a stable foundation for the carved stone through more than fourteen centuries.
The stone itself bears inscriptions that date it to the early medieval period, when such carved monuments commonly served commemorative or territorial functions in Wales. The inscription work survives as evidence of skilled stone carving practices during this era, when written markers in stone were typically associated with Christian sites, local leaders or significant individuals within Welsh communities.
The name "Chair" reflects local tradition surrounding the monument, a designation common to several early medieval stones in Wales. The combination of the inscribed surface, its prominent position in the landscape, and its survival through the medieval period onwards makes this a significant record of early medieval Welsh culture and Christian practice in this region.
St Canna's Chair is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE148. View the official record →
St Canna's Chair is an early medieval inscribed stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference PE148.
St Canna's Chair dates from the early medieval period, and is classified as a inscribed stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
St Canna's Chair is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is PE148.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell (4.7 km), Llangwathan Castle Mound (5.5 km), Llan Burial Chamber (5.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of St Canna's Chair's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
St Canna's Chair stands on Arenig Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Arenigian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.