Marcross ( cy, Marcroes) is a small village in the rural
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
St Donats
St Donats ( cy, Sain Dunwyd) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, located just west of the small town of Llantwit Major. The community includes the village of Marcross and the hamlets of Monknash and East and Wes ...
in the
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol C ...
, south
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It consists of a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
(the Horseshoe Inn) and a few scattered houses, farms, and a small
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
in the centre of the village.
Holy Trinity Church
![Marcross Church - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Marcross_Church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1057519.jpg)
The Church of the Holy Trinity dates from the 12th century and is a
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building.
The church retains many of its Norman features, including a large font, an excellent chancel arch and a pair of intriguing
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s who guard the south doorway.
[ A small window hides among the ivy on the south wall of the chancel, a lepers' window from where the afflicted could partake in services. Holy Trinity was restored at the turn of the twentieth century,][ with work including a new roof, pulpit and altar, but the whole building still retains traces of the whitewash that once covered many local churches. Possibly the most interesting feature is the huge Norman font, decorated with roll-moulding. The saddle-back, west, tower was probably added during the 14th century.] Since the church appears to be in need of repairs, particularly after a series of spring storms in 2016, a village fund raiser was held at the Horseshoe Inn in May 2016, to help with the costs of the work.
Nash Point Lighthouse
Nash Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building, and was the last staffed lighthouse in Wales; the last keepers left on 5 August 1998.[ Today, the lighthouse's automatic operation is monitored by Trinity House's control centre at Harwich in Essex.][ The station was built between 1831 and 1832,of blue lias stone winched up from the beach below.][ The foundations for both the low and high towers were laid in October 1831, with both of the towers being constructed at the same time. Both towers went into operation on 1 September 1832.][
While the sands were a danger to all ships in the area, it appears that the accident involving a passenger ship, the ''Frolic'', in March 1831, was the driving force behind the rapid construction and completion of the towers.] The engineering chief was Joseph Nelson and both towers exhibited a light, giving a clear set of leading lights for vessels sailing eastwards up the Bristol Channel, guiding them through the narrow channel[ between the rocky shore and the dangerous Nash Sands.] During the 1920s the use of the low tower was discontinued and a red sector was placed in the lamp of the east tower, shining red over the sandbank.[
The Keepers' cottages are now available for hire as holiday cottages and the lighthouse is regularly open to visitors during the summer season.] The lighthouse itself is also a popular and unique venue for weddings.
References
External links
Horseshoe Inn-TripAdvisor
{{authority control
Villages in the Vale of Glamorgan