St Davids - Churchyard - Laleston, Bridgend, Wales
N 51° 30.373 W 003° 37.301
30U E 456853 N 5706303
St David's Parish church, is surrounded by ancient and modern graves.
Also a four step churchyard cross, used to sanctify medieval burials, before the advent of gravestones. The Churchyard is central to Laleston village, Bridgend, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMK1WE
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/31/2014
Views: 1
"Churchyard crosses mostly date from the medieval period and acted as a site for preaching, especially for the itinerant orders, a focus of liturgical processions and to sanctify the churchyard for burial before the development of individual graveyard monuments after the Reformation." Text Source: (
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"St David's church has been a centre of Christian worship since 1173 when there is a record of it described as a chapel belonging to Tewkesbury Abbey. However two Christian headstones of the 11th-12th century have been found in the parish, and this together with the raised previously circular churchyard, suggest a pre-Norman date for the church is more correct. Of the pre-Norman church there are no certain remains, and it was probably built of mud. There is evidence that this church was rebuilt on a much grander scale c1186. But it is somewhere in the period of the 14th - 15th cent that we must place a large-scale rebuilding of Laleston church.
The presence of internal batter along the long walls of the nave suggest that the standing fabric is relatively early, though none of the windows survive from that date. The earliest surviving feature is the chancel arch, dating from the 14th century." Text Source: (
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"Nave and chancel, probably C13-C14, with tower and S porch late medieval. Restored in 1871. Of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and slate roof. Large rectangular tower with wide staircase. Limewashed interior with exposed dressings. Nave has waggon roof with reeded principals. Segmental pointed chancel arch with benefaction boards of 1769 over. Many C17 and C18 wall monuments to local families." Text Source: (
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