The first church at Llandefalle was probably established around 500 AD and was dedicated to St Maelog, and you can often find the current church mentioned with that dedication. That first church was rebuilt in stone around 1300 AD, and was substantially rebuilt in the late 15th century.
Unlike many churches in the area it largely escaped Victorian restoration, so retains its 15th century character throughout, with the exception of the upper part of the tower (1661) and south chancel windows from 1700.
During the Middle Ages the church was owned by Clifford Priory, across the border in Herefordshire.
The oldest part of the current building is the west end of the nave and north wall, dated to the late 13th century. The lower part of the tower may be from this time period, but most of the rest is 15th century, though the main doorway in the porch may be 16th century. The nave has a wagon roof, possibly 15th century.
There is a Norman font, perhaps 12th century, but the most interesting historic feature is a very nicely carved 14th century screen, which is missing its rood loft. There are several very good 18th century memorials including those to Thomas Williams (d. 1730) and his wife (d. 1739) and a marble plaque to Thomas Williams of Felin Newydd (d. 1779). The altar rails date to around 1660 and feature balusters in a barley-sugar twist pattern.
References:
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.