Sain Tathan - Bell Tower - St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
N 51° 24.148 W 003° 24.889
30U E 471145 N 5694663
The parish church is dedicated to Sain Tathan, a Celtic Saint who founded a church here in the 6th century. The Belfry has a ring of six bells. The Church of Sain Tathan is located in the small village of St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMK0R2
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/26/2014
Views: 2
There were originally four ancient bells in this Church Tower, they were recast in 1918, and two additional bells were added to the peal.
Sain Tathan Church in the Rectorial Benefice of Llantwit Major, 'The Church In Wales' Dioceses of Llandaff.
"The present church is built to a cruciform plan in the Decorated style of architecture of the 14th century with a central tower containing six bells.The south transept is the Berkerolles Chapel and houses two fine tombs-chests of the 14th century. They represent the two penultimate generations of the Berkerolles family of East Orchard, St Athan - Sir William (died 1327) and Sir Roger (died 1351) together with their wives. The shields surrounding the monuments were recoloured in 1932 by Major and Mrs Ridley of West Hoathley, Sussex, who claimed descent from the Berkerolles family through the Stradlings of St Donats.On the outside south wall of the nave, near the porch is a memorial in Welsh to John Williams (1728-1806), the famous hymn writer." Text Source: (
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"The burial registers date from 1663, baptisms from 1679, and marriages from 1683 and St Tathan Church is a Grade 1 listed building." Source: (
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A full description of this church can be found in the book 'Medieval Churches of the Vale of Glamorgan' by Geoffrey Orrin, published by D. Brown.