St Catwgs Church - Said to be the oldest church in the vale of Neath. The tower is believed to be from the 13th century, with the nave, chancel & porch dating prior to 1736.
The dates quoted in this listing, are found in a book called 'The History of St Catwg's' by Keith Tucker, full of interesting data,& archive material.
Three bells were installed in 1770. The ring was increased to 6 in 1898 by Taylors of Loughborough. One of the original 3 bells was re-cast to make 2 of the new 4 bells.
The bells have the following weights & inscriptions:
"Treble 1898 - "God Bless the Vale" 172 kg.
Second 1898 - "Ar y Ddaer Tangnefydd" (Peace on Earth) 174 kg.
Third 1770 - "My Treble Voice Make Heart Rejoice" 202 kg.
Fourth 1770 - "Health Peace & Plenty To This Neighbourhood" 240 kg.
Fifth 1770 - re Cast 1898 "The Rev William Thomas" 291 kg.
Tenor 1898 - "I ddynion Ewyllys Da" 382 kg.
1770 Bells by Bayleys of Bridgewater.
1898 Bells by Taylors of Loughborough.
Text Source: The History of St Catwgs, by Keith Tucker
More info on the Church & Churchyard:
The most famous feature of this old church of St Catwgs, is the churchyard known for the ‘Murder Stone’ Welsh stones which marked the graves of murder victims, in this case, Margaret Williams aged 26 Murdered in 1822. ‘Murder Stones’ were a fashion during the early nineteenth century in Wales.
"The Stonemason worked the word
MURDER in big ominous letters
upon the top of the gravestone in 1823.
The victim was only aged twenty six
when she met her violent fate that night." Text Source: (
visit link) (Worth reading all the text in this web link)
"The Parish Church of St. Catwg, Cadoxton is a ?ne example of a village churchyard. there is a twisted old yew, family vaults, gravestones over two hundred years old.
Just inside the gate, alongside the path that leads to the church, you will see the ‘Murder Stone’. It stands out because it is not square to the path.
It is at an angle to the others around, positioned to face where the murderer was said to live. It stands out because of the words it displays. It speaks of murder, violence, savage, outcry, blood and judgement.
The words on the stone are the words of Elijah Waring, a local Quaker and well-known orator, who commissioned the stone to express the outrage of the community at the murder of Margaret Williams and their belief in a retribution from which there could never be any escape. The Murderer is truly a man without hope or salvation for ‘God hath set his mark upon him'." Text Source: (
visit link)