St Davids - Churchyard Cross - 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 stepped churchyard cross, used to sanctify medieval burials, before the advent of gravestones. The Churchyard is central to Laleston village, Bridgend, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMK20K
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/01/2014
Views: 2
"Churchyard wayside 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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From the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical monuments of Wales: LALESTON, CHURCHYARD CROSS
"A square to octagonal cross-shaft with a bulbous head, rests in a 0.9m square socket-stone, set upon a three step, 2.5m square base: 3.5m high altogether. Thought to be 14th c. " 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." Text Source: (
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