About the Church
The church is situated in the centre of Welsh St Donats Village and is dedicated to St. Donat ("Dynwyd" in Welsh). The church is in the Early English style with an ancient oak roof and a pre-Reformation sanctus bell. It has been a place of worship for over 800 years. Welsh St. Donats is an ancient parish within the eastern division of Groneath Lower rural deanery in the diocese of Llandaff. It is situated approximately 3 miles north-east of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. It parish church is dedicated to St. Donat.
We do not know who St. Donat was. The earliest record of the church is an Capella Sancti Donati (the chapel of St. Donat) in 1153, but it is not possible to point to anything in the present structure that could date from then, the earliest survival being the font which might date from the early 13th century. The windows are mostly Perpendicular in type but all have been restored and, in some cases, the apparently disturbed stonework shows that the walling may be earlier. This suggests a maybe 14th century building reworked in the 15th century and the fine arched brace truss roof timbers date certainly from around 1500. This, coupled with a 13th century font is of particular note and contributes to the church’s Grade I listing. The tower is also undatable but it appears to have had the upper part heightened or rebuilt and the castellated parapets are an addition or restoration. The main Victorian restoration was in 1891 and undertaken by Kempson and Fowler. They put in the south east nave window, unblocked the priest's door and the west door and did a general repair and refitting. There was a minor restoration in 1907 by G E Halliday. Since that date there has been little change apart from the more recent removal of the pews.
In a Topographical Dictionary of Wales, from 1883, Samuel Lewis wrote:
"DONATT'S (WELSH ST.), a parish in the hundred of COWBRIDGE, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from Cowbridge, containing 304 inhabitants. This place was formerly annexed to the parish of Llanblethian, from which it has been separated, and is now a parish of itself. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Llanblethian, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Llandaf. The church possesses no claim to architectural notice. Miss Leysons, about the year 1774, bequeathed a rentcharge of £5 for distribution among the poor of this parish. Caercady, the property of John Thomas Jones, Esq. R. N., is a genteel mansion, built by the late Colonel Jenkins, one of the auditors of the public accounts, from whom it came by marriage to its present proprietor. The average annual expenditure for the snpport of the poor is £ 127."
To the rear of the church is a portacabin which has affectionately become known as the ‘Ark’, which was placed on the grounds as a home for the children’s Sunday Club. The long term aim would be to add an extension to the existing church building that would be more in keeping with the original structure.
About the Cache
To the rear of the church and just outside the grounds there is a bench and a small pond that are ideal to have a sit to work out the final coordinates.
The Gate
What year did T. Lewis manufacture the gates of the church?
ABCD
What did the Romans ever do for us?
What verse and chapter of Romans can be seen here?
E:FG
The Tower
How many 'stained glass' windows are there in the tower?
H
The Ark
What is the BLDG number of the Ark?
IJK
The Cache
The cache can be found at:
N 51 28 . ( J - F ) ( A ) ( G - K )
W 003 24 . ( E - I ) ( E - F ) ( F - A )
| FTF |
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MappFamilyTravels
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