The Church of St Garmon
St Garmon church sits in the centre of Llanfechain north of Welshpool. A single-chambered church with a 19th Century bell turret at the west end, the core of the building is 12th Century and it retains Norman windows in the east wall and two round-headed doorways on the south side. Inside there is a 15th Century arched-braced roof. It is sited within a raised circular churchyard that also contains a 'preaching mound' and a sundial.
A small church with Norman architectural features dated to 1254, though partly renewed. Much of the masonry shell is probably still original, though the west wall has been reconstructed, and there are hints of localised rebuilding elsewhere. There are also unexplained anomalies internally at the west end. The east wall has retained three small windows at the expense of the customary large, east window; two of these at least are original. There are also two Norman doorways, the main south door and a priest's door. The remaining fenestration is 19th Century, as is the bell turret. The porch is 17th Century, restored in the 19th Century.
 
Quoted from the 1979 publication The Buildings of Wales: Powys by Richard Haslam
The dedication, location and morphology all point to an early medieval foundation. St Garmon was reputedly a 9th Century saint, and his 'preaching mound', Twmpath Garmon, remains on the north side of the church, and a holy well, Ffynnon Garmon, lies to the south-east of the village.

The earliest reference to a church on this site is in the Norwich Taxation of 1254, where 'Capella de Llanvechthyn' was valued at œ1. In the later Lincoln Taxation of 1291 'Ecclia de Llannetheyn' was valued at œ6.

Surviving features attest changes during the later medieval and early post-medieval era: the present roof was inserted in the 15thC, the south porch was added in the 17thC, and at some date a vestry was annexed to the old west wall. Thomas refers, too, to a blocked south window that lit the rood loft, and an aumbry or piscina associated with the rood altar - these disappeared in one of the 19thC restorations.

Glynne went to Llanfechain in 1855. The south porch had vine-leaf decoration, the walls of the building leaned outwards, the north wall of the chancel had a small square-headed window, and mention was also made of the piscina, the roof, the Jacobean altar table, the pulpit, a dug-out chest, and a pew with the date 1649.

Some work took place in 1852 at a cost of œ100, but more significant changes occurred in the 1859 restoration under the aegis of R.K. Penson. The old vestry was replaced by one against the north wall, the gallery was restored but to a smaller scale, the west gable was rebuilt losing a small round-headed Norman window of similar type to those in the east wall, a dormer window above the porch was removed, round-headed windows were inserted in the nave and chancel, and a shingled spire was constructed on the belfry. The interior was tiled, the pulpit and reading desk were re-sited and the font was placed on a raised pedestal near the south door. A source of 1872 refers to the removal of the north chancel window which had tracery that was supposedly brought from the abbey of Strata Marcella.

Further restoration occurred in 1883 when Douglas and Fordham of Chester stripped the inside of plaster, removed the ceiling to expose the roof trusses, laid woodblock floors, and replaced the pews with open seats. A wagon roof was inserted in the chancel and the church was re-roofed with red tiles. Douglas also appears to have altered the structure of the spire, and it was probably at this time that the piscina, referred to by Glynne and in 1872 as 'perfect' though 'concealed' was removed. The bells were rehung in 1920.