Historic churches and other Christian sites in South Wales

  • Cogan (Vale of Glamorgan) must have been typical of many parish churches in the Norman period, small and plain with no windows in the north wall
    Cogan (Vale of Glamorgan) must have been typical of many parish churches in the Norman period, small and plain with no windows in the north wall the one in the chancel is a later insertion). Its construction features rubble laid herring-bone style, a method which soon went out of use."
  • The west front of Llanthony Priory (Monmouthshire) shows the transition between the massive Norman style with its round-headed openings to the beginning of the use of pointed arches and a more delicate style of building.
    The west front of Llanthony Priory (Monmouthshire) shows the transition between the massive Norman style with its round-headed openings to the beginning of the use of pointed arches and a more delicate style of building.
  • The monks at Chepstow (Monmouthshire) could afford to have the west door of their priory church elaborately carved with five orders of typical Norman carvings: zigzags, lozenges and Xs
    The monks at Chepstow (Monmouthshire) could afford to have the west door of their priory church elaborately carved with five orders of typical Norman carvings: zigzags, lozenges and Xs. It is given further emphasis by being set between two smaller blind archways which continue the zigzag motifs.
  • In 1141 the church at Ewenny (Vale of Glamorgan) was granted to the Benedictine abbey at Gloucester, which founded a cell here
    In 1141 the church at Ewenny (Vale of Glamorgan) was granted to the Benedictine abbey at Gloucester, which founded a cell here. Most of the church still retains its original Norman form, although the north transept has been demolished and the north aisle rebuilt. The south aisle, shown here, now contains a collection of carved stone from the site, some of which predates the Norman occupation and indicates that there must already have been a religious foundation here.
  • Portskewett church (Monmouthshire) has the plainest of all possible doorways in its north wall, surmounted by a massive stone lintel inscribed with a double line suggesting a rounded arch, within which is carved a cross
    Portskewett church (Monmouthshire) has the plainest of all possible doorways in its north wall, surmounted by a massive stone lintel inscribed with a double line suggesting a rounded arch, within which is carved a cross.
  • The font in St Mary Magdalene Church, Maudlam is of early Norman origin with a distinctive fish-scale pattern all over and rope rim to its upper edge.
    The font in St Mary Magdalene Church, Maudlam is of early Norman origin with a distinctive fish-scale pattern all over and rope rim to its upper edge. The font occupies more than its fair share of space in the church with a theory that it was brought to Maudlam Church from the original St James' Church at Kenfig when that became inundated with sand. A similar but smaller font can be seen in Llantwit Major church.

The Normans and the New Church Order

Until the Norman conquest, Christianity in Wales had followed its own course – changes and reforms introduced by the Pope in Rome had largely passed it by. In contrast, the Normans were Catholics. As a result, when the Normans came to Wales they found a church that did not follow the expected rules, and they set about changing it to comply with their own ideas. This meant replacing the old clas system with monasteries under the rule of St Benedict for monks, and parishes to look after the spiritual welfare of lay people. The clergy in both sorts of institution were now expected to be celibate instead of marrying and passing on their office to their sons. All parishioners were expected to pay a tenth of what they produced (a tithe) to support their parish priest.

As Norman rule spread throughout South Wales, so did the parish system. In the lowland were the land was fertile, tithes of the agricultural produce they produced meant that parishes could be small. They were often linked with the manorial system, so that there was a single parish per manor. In contrast, parishes in the sparsely settled uplands were often huge – the parish of Ystradyfodwg, for example, covered most of the Rhondda. Most of these parish churches came under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Llandaff, though everything to the west of the River Tawe (apart from Bishopston) was in the Diocese of St Davids. Llandaff had been a clas church, and its bishops still considered themselves the heirs to property over a much wider area in South Wales and the Marches. In order to support this claim, Bishop Urban put together around 1125 the Book of Llandaff, an extensive collection of charters. In the event, little more than the properties in the core area between the Wye and the Tawe were confirmed as belonging to the Diocese of Llandaff, but the collection still provide us which much useful information about the early church.

The Normans embarked on an extensive programme to provide new churches for every parish. As far as we know, these were the first stone churches to be built in South Wales. Their architecture is distinguished by round-headed arches and, compared with later medieval architecture, relatively small windows.

A number of the new Norman lords also founded monasteries to pray for the souls of themselves and their families. In at least some cases, the lands they granted to their new monasteries already belonged to communities of claswyr, and there are hints in the records of disputes between them and the incomers. The story of Llanthony Priory (Monmouthshire) is unusual, as a bottom-up foundation. The prime mover was a knight who received a calling to the religious life at a ruined chapel on the skirts of the Black Mountains. He was joined by a hermit who became the first prior when the community was persuaded to adopt the Augustinian rule at the beginning of the 12th century.