The Community of Bodfari

Welcome to the web-site of Bodfari Community Council.

The earliest certain evidence of human settlement in Bodfari is represented by the hillfort on the summit of the hill at Moel y Gaer, to the north-west of the village. It is one of the smallest and lower-lying of the chain of hillforts along the Clwydians, It is probably of Iron Age date, and built about 2,500 years ago.

Perhaps also the site of a Roman way-station on a sub-highway between Chester and Watling Street, it was once thought that the name derived from a Roman general, Varius, but this has now been discounted. Certainly, Roman remains of urns, pottery, weapons and coins have been found in the area.

The tower of St Stephen’s is late medieval (in fact 13^th century), though the parish of Bodfari is mentioned for the first time in the Domesday survey of 1088. The founder is believed to be Deifar or Diar. St Deifar’s holy well was famous for its Ascension Day processional service and as a place where children were dipped to the neck at three of its corners ‘to prevent their crying at night.’ The body of the church was rebuilt in 1865.