St. Andrew's Major () is a village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the community of

Dinas Powys Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Dinas Powys hillfort, Iron Age hillfort wh ...

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 ...

, between

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in south-eastern

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 ...

Description

The village has a

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 ...

which is over 600 years old and a primary school. Back in the early 19th century the house just past the Church used to be a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

, but the local Lord of the Manor had it closed down as all of his farm labourers were spending their wages in there and not getting any work done (according to local history). The property is now a private residence. There is now no pub in the village these days In 1801 the village had a population of 420 and 474 in 1833 although now it is simply a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

with less than 150 residents.

Geography

The surrounding soil of the parish is a strong, brown, dry earth, well adapted for grain of all kinds. The substratum of the whole is

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The ground is rather elevated and hilly towards the northern, side of the parish, and flat and level towards the southern side. It is sometimes subject to partial

inundation A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

from the overflowing of a small stream, called

Dinas Powis Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Iron Age hillfort which overlooks the village. Dinas Powys i ...

brook, which runs through the south-eastern part of the parish towards the south, and empties itself into the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

, between the parishes of Cadoxton and Sully, which lie between St. Andrew's and the channel. The nearby St Andrews Quarry has provided limestone for roadbuilding and gravel and also the windows of St Peter's Church at Dinas Powys.

The Church

The church is dedicated to St. Andrew, and is in the Benefice of St. Andrews Major and Michaelston-le-Pit. At the east end of the north aisle, parallel with the chancel, is a private chapel, anciently the property and burial-place of a respectable family, named Rowel, long since extinct, and the Bouville family who were owners of a great part of the parish. In the floor of this chapel there is a stone bearing an inscription of the tombs of a couple who had both lived extremely long lives: John Wesley is reputed to have preached from the pulpit. The Rectory, behind the church, was built in 1830 and its gardens used for village celebrations and events. It was built to replace The Old Rectory, (or Old Parsonage) which dates from the 15th century and still exists behind the later building.Tilney, ''Dinas Powys, St Andrews Major and Michealston-le-Pit From Old Photographs'', pages 10, 18.

References

External links

Parish of St Andrews Major
{{authority control Saint Andrews Major Dinas Powys