Llangiwg is a symbol of our community's continuity over 1,500 years. It is our heritage. It is irreplaceable.

Introduction

Llangiwg is situated at a cross roads on an ancient mountain route along which the Celtic saints travelled during the 6th century in the footsteps of far earlier people. Later, the agricultural community would have used these routes before industry opened up the valley. Llangiwg Church is of Celtic origin and is named after Ciwg the Confessor, a 6th Century saint who introduced Christianity into the area between AD 542 and 568.

Llangiwg Church

The first church on the site was probably constructed in the 6th century but was not as we see it today, as churches at that time were built from wattle and daub. The first stone churches were built about four centuries later, following the Norman conquest of Britain

The church one sees today was substantially rebuilt in 1812 (as demonstrated by the plaque on the southern external wall), but there are remains of the Norman church on the site. Part of the tower is Norman, dating back to the 13th century. The tower was much higher but had to be reduced in height as it was learning precariously. The belfry originally contained two bells. Only one currently survives. The aisle section dates back to Tudor times (16th century), but this structure was refurbished in 1812. During the refurbishment, the stone slates were replaced by Caernarfon slates. The roof was again replaced in 1997.

The walls of the church are built from local sandstone with occasional old red sandstone boulders included, originating from the Brecon area. The red boulders were transported by ice movement during the last Ice Age and deposited in glacial moraines (the debris picked up and carried at the base of glaciers). They were gathered locally and incorporated when the building was commenced.

The church was closed and it was put up for sale in 2004. It was purchased by the Friends of Llangiwg in 2007 as a voluntary organisation comprising members of the local community.

St Ciwg

Christianity has played an important role in shaping the history of Wales. The 6th century is known as the “Age of the Saints” One of those saints, was Ciwg. A letter written in the late 17th century by Thomas Morgan in 1697 gives the location of his cell “in a rock annex to the churchyard over which rock there is at this day a little house built for the parish clerk called Y Maendy.” St. Ciwg lived there between 542 AD and 568 AD preaching and ministering to the community. . He was of a noble family and most likely to have been educated. This site is where the Christian faith first came to the Swansea Valley. Ciwg would have been a contemporary of the Patron Saint of Wales St. David, and would have attended the Synod at Llanddewi Brefi when St. David addressed the Welsh clergy in 545 A.D.

Holy Well

The presence of a well in the churchyard – described by CADW (the historic environment service of the Welsh Assembly Government) – as “holy” and the elevated position on The Barley of this redundant church suggests the presence of a community stretching back in time long before the coming of Christianity to the area. It suggests the existence of a pre-Christian original Celtic settlement to whom Ciwg came as a missionary.

The Maendy (“Stone House”)

Next to the churchyard are the remains of the Maendy Arms, built certainly before the 17th century. At one time the home of the curate, and later, it became the Cilybebyll Arms, an indication of the church’s association with the Herberts of Cilybebyll and part of the family of the Earl of Pembroke. Later the name was changed to the Maendy Arms but in the late 19th century it was abandoned and allowed to become derelict.

The local area

The ring cairn on Mynydd Carn Llechart (grid ref.SN 696063) and the remnants of many Neolithic burial sites demonstrates that humans inhabited this area 4,000 years ago and were the ancestral stock of the community that Ciwg came to convert to Christianity.

Llangiwg is recorded in The Chronicle of Wales (Brut y Tywysogion) as the place chosen by Llewlyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, to camp after crossing the Black Mountains with his army in 1217 on his way from Brecon to attack the Norman castle at Swansea.

Pilgrimages

Pilgrimages in mediaeval Wales were very popular and two pilgrimages to St David's equalled one to Rome. When the building has the necessary amenities it will be possible to join a network called Small Pilgrim Places. To find out more go to: www.smallpilgrimplaces.org

St Illtyd’s Way

If the church is attributed to the 6th century, it is likely to be associated with St Illtyd’s Way and the ridgeway pathway. This is the most important feature of the church’s location, which gives an indication of the date of the site. The path which runs north to south and leads towards the village of Rhyd-y-fro is certainly the earliest route in that direction and continues towards the known route of Illtyd’s Way. Southward, it leads towards a ford on the River Tawe through the area known as Ynysmeudwy. Another path leads towards the site of Carn Llechart, which is a late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age and an important local site.

St Illtyd lived in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, and was held in high veneration in Wales, where many churches were dedicated to him in Glamorgan. St. Illtyd’s Way also forms part of the modern, St. Illtyd’s Walk - extending 64 miles from Margam (in Glamorgan) to Pembrey (in Carmarthenshire). A section links the Neath Valley with the Swansea Valley. A public right of way skirts the edge of Rhydyfro School and, from St Illtyd's Way at the back of the school, a path leads to Llangiwg.