St Iestyn's Church stands in a churchyard in a rural part of eastern Anglesey, near the village of Llanddona.

Restoration work took place in 1865 (renewing the roof and adding the north window) and in 1954, when the west door was discovered.

[2][9] The east window in the chancel is in the shape of a pointed arch and dates from the 15th century; it has three lights topped with cinquefoils and a hood mould.

He is bearded and has the appearance of a hermit,[2] or of a Franciscan friar (Samuel Lewis commenting that the cord and tassel hanging from the girdle around his waist were similar to those worn by monks in that order).

[2] The historian Peter Lord has written that the depiction of the staff and brooch is so accurate that it suggests that "these artefacts, which were already objects of veneration, survived for the sculptor to copy".

[10] The inscription reads H[I]C : JACET : SANGTUS : YESTINVS : CVI : /WEN[LLIA]N [F : MADO] C : ET : GRVFFVT : AP : GWILYM : O[BT]VLIT : IN OB/LACOEM : ISTAM : IMAGIN/NE : P : SALVTE : ANIMARVM : S ("Here lies Iestyn to whom Gwenllian ferch Madog and Gruffydd ap Gwilym offered this image for the health of their souls").

[2][4] It is made of grey sandstone, from Flintshire in north-east Wales – an area where the donor of the effigy, Gruffudd ap Gwilym, had land.

[1] It was given this status on 30 January 1968, and has been listed because it is a "good Medieval rural church which retains many original and early features".

[2] Writing in 1847, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones said that the church was one of the "plainest" in Anglesey, but had "two treasures".

[12] He described the font as "remarkably curious", and said that there were "few monumental effigies in Wales of a higher antiquarian value" than the image of St Iestyn.

[12] A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region notes the "barn-like" entrance of the porch, and describes the effigy of St Iestyn as "surprisingly accomplished".