St Rhidian & St Illtyd - Bell Tower - Llanrhidian, Gower, Wales.
N 51° 36.534 W 004° 10.337
30U E 418823 N 5718191
St.Rhidian & St.Illtyd - A 13th Century Church, with one of the tallest medieval Bell Towers on the Gower Peninsular. Located in Llanrhidian, Gower, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMTHYP
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/27/2016
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Visitors to the church grounds will note, when passing through the gates, two memorial plaques embedded in the gate posts from the doomed village of Llanelen. (Do not touch they are cursed.)
The church is kept locked but visitors may borrow a key from the petrol station at the cross-roads by the top of the village. The church is open for worship with services at 9.30am and 3.00pm every Sunday.
"A church at Llanrhidian was thought to have been first established by St Rhidian in the 6th century, the church was later dedicated to St Illtyd. The church was granted by William de Turberville in about 1167 to the Knights Hospitallers of St John, by whom the present building was probably begun in the 13th century. In 1400 its chancel was described as ruinous, and the present chancel and the tower were perhaps added in the 14th century. The unusual massiveness of the tower (it includes at its top a base for a beacon fire) suggests construction at a time of serious defensive needs." Text Source: (
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"Part of the present building dates from the 13th century and was probably built, in part, by the Knights Hospitallers of St John. The chancel and the tower are thought to have been added in the 14th century, including the beacon fire platform at the top of the large tower.
The condition of the church was poor until the middle of the 19th Century when the Victorians undertook to rebuild the nave leaving the chancel and tower from the original construction. The church was re-consecrated in 1858 by the Bishop of St Davids." Text Source: (
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