The Parish Church of St Hilary ( cy, Eglwys Sant Ilar) is a Grade II* listed Anglican

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 * C ...

in the village of St Hilary 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 ...

, south Wales. It is one of 11 churches in the Parish of

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for ...

. It became a listed building on 22 February 1963.

Name

The dedication of a church to the French

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and saint

Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...

is unusual for

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and probably initially reflected a foundation credited to either the Breton

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and saint IlarRees, Rice
''An Essay on the Welsh Saints or the Primitive Christians Usually Considered to Have Been the Founders of Churches in Wales'', p. 224
Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman (London), 1836.Stanton, Richard. ''A Menology of England and Wales: Or, Brief Memorials of the Ancient British and English Saints Arranged According to the Calendar, Together with the Martyrs of the 16th and 17th Centuries'', p. 703. Burns & Oates, 1892. or the

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

and saint Elian.History of Wallasey.
History of Wallasey Churches
. 2014. The relative obscurity of these saints, however, has led the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

to consider this church a dedication to Saint Hilary instead, at least as early as the beginning of the 20th century.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al
''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. III, pp. 299 f
Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 25 Nov 2014. Saint Hilary's own connection with Wales arose from confused accounts that he

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

Saint Cybi as a bishop, although the two were separated by two centuries. Baring-Gould suggests this may have arisen from a confusion with Saint Elian, who was a relative of Cybi's.

Architecture

The 14th century, red-tiled church is a substantial structure in the later English style, consisting of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, south aisle, and

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. Ov ...

, with a 16th-century embattled tower at the west end. The nave is long and broad including the aisle. The chancel long and wide and the arch dates further back to the twelfth century, evidently from the earlier building which was situated on the site. The eastern window of the south aisle is elegantly design, and that of the chancel is ornamented with stained glass, representing the arms of the Traherne family. The Bassett Family Tomb Enclosure is listed as a Grade II building in its own right. In the chancel is a recumbent figure, in armour, with a Latin inscription, to the memory of Thomas Bassett of Old Beau Pre, who died in 1423. In the south aisle, there is a tablet to the memory of the late Mrs. Traherne, who died in 1796, and to that of her sister, Anna Maria Edmondes. The church was restored in 1861–1862 "at the expense of Mrs Charlotte Traherne of Coedriglan" under the designs of the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott and Reverend

John Montgomery Traherne John Montgomery Traherne, FRS, FSA, FGS, FLS (5 October 1788 – 5 February 1860) was a Welsh Anglican priest, antiquarian, magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of County of Glamorgan. His best known work is ''Historical Notices of Sir Matthew ...

. A memorial plaque on the lych gate commemorates parishioners who died in World War I.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hilary, Saint Hilary Grade II* listed churches in the Vale of Glamorgan 14th-century church buildings in Wales