St Illtyd's Parish Church, Ilston, Gower Glamorgan

Description

Photography (on 29 May 2003) by John Ball — with a Fuji FinePix S602 Zoom digital camera and Venita Roylance — with a Kodak DX4900 digital camera

The village of Ilston is situated on the Gower Peninsula in the wooded valley of Ilston stream. It is one of the most tranquil and ancient sites in Gower. Ilston parish church is dedicated to St Illtyd, and in Welsh, Ilston is known as Llanilltud Gwyr (the church of St Illtud on Gower). Ilston was much loved by the 19th century diarist and cleric Francis Kilvert, who several times stayed at Ilston rectory. I explored the parish church in the company of fellow genealogist and photographer Venita Roylance from Utah, USA, some of whose photographs are featured here. This illustrated record of our visit is set out in three sections:
 
Image 1:

Photography by John Ball

History of St Illtyd's Church

St Illtyd's Church gives the visitor an impression of incredible antiquity, but the building itself was substantially restored in the 19th century, and many of its original, internal features were sadly destroyed at this time.

The church stands on the site of an early Christian cell. The site was used by the early Christian church since the 11th century AD. In 12th century papal bulls, the site is mentioned as the church of St Cynwalon, but very little is known of this early Celtic saint. St Illtyd, however, is notable as the father of all Celtic saints in Wales. He was a contemporary of St Patrick and a pupil of St Germanus of Auxerre.

In time, the Christian cell at Ilston was replaced by a wooden Celtic oratory and soon after the Norman conquest this was replaced with a stone church. The present stone structure dates from the time of John de Breos, Lord of Gower, who presented it to the Knights Templar in the decade 1220-1230. At this time it is likely that only the tower stood, built upon foundations of the Norman church. A nave was added in the 15th century. Other sections of St Illtyd's, such as the chancel and vestry are harder to date, but parish records show that the present vestry was once a medieval chapel and recent investigations have uncovered what could possibly have been a "leper's window".
Extracted from: The Church of St Illtyd by Michael Kennedy, published in Country Quest, February 1999.

Church exterior and churchyard

Image 2:

Photography by Venita Roylance

Ilston Stream flows seaward, past the western boundary of the churchyard.

The church is built on a sloping site on the east bank of Ilston stream. Above the church, the hillside is densely wooded. Access from the road through Ilston village is via a footbridge over the stream.

Image 3:

Photography by John Ball

This lush meadow lies to the north of the churchyard.

Image 4:

Photography by Venita Roylance

Northwestern aspect of St Illtyd's, showing the steepness of the land on which it stands. The west wall is buttressed to provide stability. The top of the bell-tower is just visible above the roof of the nave.

Image 5:

Photography by John Ball

Southern aspect of St Illtyd's showing the bell-tower (right) and the south wall of the nave with its entrance porch (centre).

The nave is Norman and has original north and south doorways. The outer porch entrance also looks Norman but is probably much later. The massive battlemented tower has the saddleback roof which is characteristic of many churches on Gower. The ridge of the tower roof runs at right angles to that of the nave.

Image 6:

Photography by John Ball

St Illtyd's Church from the southwest

Image 7:

Photography by John Ball

Old tombstones leaning against the base of the bell-tower. The shadow on the left is cast by a gigantic 600-year-old yew tree (below left).

Image 8:

Photography by John Ball

Yew trees had considerable significance in pre-Christian times as they seem often to have been planted at Bronze Age burial sites. It has been suggested that the yew trees were planted as an indication of the presence in the neighbourhood of a plentiful supply of water. Another theory is that yew trees were credited with magical properties. Some claim that Ilston has magical powers of longevity. Dominating the churchyard of St Illtyd is a huge yew tree reputed to be over 600 years old. A search of the graveyard reveals many other long-lived residents, such as Avis Rees who died in 1759 aged 102, and Robert Evans who died at 105. More likely is a reluctance to leave Ilston once one has experienced its tranquillity and natural beauty — something that its residents have been doing for over 1400 years.

Turn to Page 2 and explore inside the church.

• http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/archive/030605.htm (link opens in new window)