St Illtyd's Wayside Shrine - Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales - Wayside shrines on Waymarking.com

Situated in the picturesque and historic village of Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, St Illtyd’s is one of the oldest parish churches in Wales.

St Illtyd's Church is a medieval church in Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is one of the oldest and best-known parish churches in Wales. Worship has taken place on this site for over 600 years, before the church was built over 900 years ago.

The wayside shrine is often known as a preaching cross, or calvary cross.

The steps are often worn, where people have knelt to pray over the centurys.

"St Illtyd's is a complex medieval church with twelfth century origins. The church is split into four main parts -the first lies to the far west and is a ruined structure, perhaps a former chapel. The chancel and an aisled nave with an early thirteenth century tower form the second and third parts whilst a long aisle-less structure to the west known as the 'Western Church' forms the fourth. The eastern section of the church, comprising the nave and chancel, is in Early English style - particularly noticable in the windows. There are the remains of piscinas in the north and south aisles and restored medieval murals. The circular Norman font has a scale design. The 'Western Church' houses a number of ninth and tenth century crosses associated with the monastic foundation at Llantwit Major. Restorations were carried out in 1889 and 1905, and a major refurbishment was undertaken in the mid to late twentieth century". Text Source: (visit link)

" A calvary (calvaire in French) is a type of monumental public crucifix, sometimes encased in an open shrine, most commonly found across northern France from Brittany east and through Belgium and equally familiar as wayside structures provided with minimal sheltering roofs in Italy and Spain. The Breton calvaire is distinguished from a simple crucifix cross by the inclusion of three-dimensional figures surrounding the Crucifixion itself, typically representing Mary and the apostles of Jesus, though later saints and symbolic figures may also be depicted.

In northern France and Belgium, such wayside calvaries erected at the junction of routes and tracks "function both as navigation devices and objects of veneration", Nicholas J. Saunders has observed "Since medieval times they have fixed the landscape, symbolically acquiring it for the Christian faith, in the same way that, previously, Megalithic monuments marked prehistoric landscapes according to presumed religious and ideological imperatives". Text source: (visit link)

Year of creation: 1100/1/1 Material: Stone Your rating:

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Post at least one (own made) photograph of this wayside shrine.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/25/2014 veritas vita visited it