St.

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog (; also Modern Welsh: Catawg or Catwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the Celtic church as a centre of learning, wher ...

's Church is a

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () 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 position is currently held b ...

church in

Glynneath Glynneath ( ; also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'') is a town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. Glynneath ward ...

, Wales. It is located in the grounds of the now derelict

Aberpergwm House Aberpergwm House () is an abandoned and ruinous country house located in Glynneath, Wales. Within the grounds of the house sits the church of St. Cadoc, which is possibly of late medieval origin. Newman, J., ‘The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan ...

for which it was an estate church.

History

Possibly of late-medieval origin, the church was a 17th-century

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

in the parish of Cadoxton. It was rebuilt in 1808–09 by Rees Williams of Aberpergwm House and remodelled and extended by his son William Williams in 1836–41, when the chancel was added. It was repaired and further modified in 1883. The church was restored in 2001 with further repairs and conservation of the stained glass in 2011.

Architecture

Rectangular in form, the church is built from

Pennant sandstone The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carbonifer ...

with a slate roof and an octagonal bellcote. The window frames in the north and south walls are of red Cheshire sandstone and probably date from 1883. Inside are Georgian white plaster walls and vaulted ceilings and a neo-Norman chancel arch.

Stained glass

The east window contains four stained glass panels dating from 1530–1542 which originate from Steinfeld Abbey near Cologne, from which they were removed following the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the abbey in 1802. A stained glass window in the north wall dates from 1882.

Monuments and memorials

The two medieval effigies in the chancel are said to have been purchased in France to enhance the antique effect. There are several memorials to members of the Williams family, including an elaborate memorial in the graveyard known locally as the ''Wedding Cake Memorial''. There is a memorial tablet to

Dafydd Nicolas Dafydd Nicolas, or David Nicholas (c.1705 – 8 February 1774) was a Welsh poet. Life He was born in Llangynwyd, near Maesteg, Wales; the folklorist identified him as the Dafydd Nicolas baptised on 1 July 1705, son of Robert Nicolas and Anne R ...

(1705–1774), bard at Aberpergwm House, who was among the last of the Welsh household bards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glynneath, Cadoc, Saint, Church Vale of Neath Grade II* listed churches in Neath Port Talbot