St Dochdwy's Church is a historic
listed church in the village of
Llandough, near
Penarth
Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay.
Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...
in the
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
.
History
Llandough was an important site for Christian worship from the early years of
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic languages, Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unifi ...
. The word 'Llan' refers to an enclosure which often surrounded an early building of worship, and many other Welsh locations drew their names from early churches in this way, such as
Llanishen
Llanishen (, ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417.
Llanishen is the home of the former HMRC tax offices, the tallest buildings i ...
,
Llanedeyrn
Llanedeyrn () is a former village, now a district and community, in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales, located around 3.5 miles from the city centre. The parish of Llanedeyrn rests on the banks of the river Rhymney and is visible nesting o ...
and Llandewi (the original name for
Nottage). The saint for whom the church is named is known by numerous other renderings, such as Cyngar, Dochau, Dochow, Dochwy, Dogwyn and Docco, amongst others.
St Dochau established a monastic community known as Bangor Dochau in the 5th century, one of many in
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
(then known as Morganwg). An archaeological excavation took place at the church in 1994, at which a large cemetery was uncovered. Subsequent
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
showed that the burials commenced there in the period – . The latest radiocarbon date of – suggests that the burials continued at Llandough until the monastery became defunct in around the early 11th century.
Despite having lost its monastery, the site continued in use as a parish church, and the first mention of a permanent church building on the site dates from the 12th century. The medieval church lasted (after restoration in the 18th century) until 1820, when it was demolished. The building which replaced it lasted in use only for forty years before it was deemed too small and was replaced by the current structure. The 1820–1860 church was dismantled and re-erected at
Leckwith
Leckwith () is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff. Historically, the parish of Leckwith also included land on the east side of the river Ely that is now part of Cardiff itself. This area is also commonly known as Leck ...
, where it was re-dedicated to St James. The building still stands, though has since been converted into a pair of houses. The present St Dochdwy's Church was designed by S. C. Fripp of Bristol and built by David Jones of Penarth for a cost of £2,600. Fripp was inspired by
William Butterfield
William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy.
Biography
William Butterfield was bo ...
's work on
St Augustine's Church in Penarth, which was completed in the same year.
The present church, which comprises a nave and a
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
with a north vestry, has a
saddleback tower that has room for two bells. The gabled porch retains memorials from the 18th century. The chancel stalls date from 1934. The church contains a chapel to the
Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.
Membership
Service in th ...
. The interior was renovated in July 2013. The church incorporated the original Norman chancel arch which now links the south aisle with the belltower. The church became listed in 1989 as "a prominent Gothic Revival church by a regional architect occupying an important Early Christian site". Since 2004 the church is now in the Parish of Penarth and Llandough.
Irbic Cross
In the graveyard of St Dochdwy's is a monument known as the Irbic Cross. St Dochau's grandfather was known as Erbin, and it is thought that the cross is probably a commemoration to him. The cross is around ten feet high and dates from the 10th century. It is built from
Sutton stone in four moulded blocks, though the cross head is missing.
References
{{Churches in the Vale of Glamorgan
Churches completed in 1866
Grade II listed churches in the Vale of Glamorgan