St Donat's Church ( cy, Eglwys Sain Dunwyd) is a Grade I listed church in

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. It became a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

on 22 February 1963.

History

St Donat's Church was originally a small 12th century church with an apsed chancel. By the early 14th century the tower was added which was followed towards the late 14th century by the Lady Chapel, now known as the Stradling Chapel. In the 15th century the chancel was rebuilt and the nave the following century. In 1878 Dr. Nicholl-Carne paid for the restoration of the main body of the church. In 1907 the then patron of the church, Morgan Stuart Williams, ordered the reconstruction of the tower. A heating chamber was later added to the tower but this was reconstructed in the late 20th century. The church has a long-standing association with the Stradling baronets, whose home,

St Donat's Castle St Donat's Castle ( cy, Castell Sain Dunwyd), St Donats, Wales, is a Middle Ages, medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, about to the west of Cardiff, and about to the west of Llantwit Major. Positioned on cliffs overlooking the Bristol Ch ...

, overlooks the church. Several monuments to the Stradlings from the 17th and 18th century are found within its walls. The church was granted Grade I listed building status in 1963, with the reason stating that it was "highly graded as an important early medieval church with the particularly fine Stradling Chapel and for its historic associations with St. Donat's Castle".

Architecture

Originally built in the 12th century, St Donat's retains architectural features from all five of its different stages of growth. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

arch is evidence of its 12th century construction, plain, round-headed with primitive caps. The double headed double-chamfered tower arch is believed to be early 14th century, while the north chancel chapel, with its square-headed three light eastern window, was added later that century. The chancel was reconstructed in the 15th century with many features from that build still in evidence: the

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...

(altar basin) with cusped

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

hood, the nave with its north porch, the corbelled parapets to the nave with gargoyles and the corbelled tower battlements. The work from this period also shows comparisons to the late 15th century hall at the castle. The body of the church was restored in 1878 and the tower in 1907. Other features of note include the circular font with roll top and bottom with scale patterned sides. A medieval wooden lectern, not original to the church, which was bought in 1913. The eastern window is of stained glass and displays an image of Saint Donat (circa 1862), believed to be by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

, but its providence is uncertain.

Monuments and art

The churchyard contains several structures of note, several of the having listed building status. One of the oldest features is a complete 15th century

preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Great Britain, Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some ...

mounted on a three stepped plinth. The cross is also listed as a grade I listed building recognised '...for its special interest as a complete medieval cross with a rare medieval gravestone beside it.' A memorial cross to Mary Anne Nicholl-Carne, a former owner of St Donats Castle who died in 1879, has grade II listed status and is found to the north west of the church tower. The walls and railings surrounding the churchyard are also grade II listed, of 19th century build but includes some sections of earlier 17th century design. Within the church, held in the Stradling Chapel, are three painted family portraits on panels, depicting Sir Edward Stradling (1529-1609) and his wife, the others his forebears, dated 1590 and signed by Byrd. These items were stolen from the chapel in 1991, but subsequently recovered; those presently on display are now photographic copies. The chapel also contains the tombs of Sir Edward Stradling (1699-1726) and Sir Thomas Stradling (1710-1738), last of the Stradling line.

References

External links

Artwork at St Donat
{{Churches in the Vale of Glamorgan