(Really) Old Whitchurch

This time we’re really exploring the dim and distant past of our village. How old is this place we call home, and why is it called so many different names (in at least 3 different languages!). Where was the original church in Whitchurch?

There’s some history available, but it’s not very clear and some digging is required. And as ever, it’s all open to interpretation

We know that there had been a church at Llandaff from about 7-8th century, and later (after the conquest) became recognised as the church associated with St Teilo, a Welsh Saint from west Wales. Edgar Chappell suggests that there was an early monastic settlement at Melingriffith too, associated with the church at Llandaff. But this was some time later, perhaps in the 8-9th century, and probably lasted for a long time

So where was it? If it was at Melingriffith, it could have been on the ancient footpath route to Radyr and Llandaff and the ford across the river. By 1126, a first mention of a religious institution was mentioned ‘associated with an old mill’, perhaps this was the same settlement

Penllan (or Pen-y-Llan) was an ancient farm off Velindre Road, adjacent to the batter at Melingriffith. Pen-y-Llan means ‘above’ or’ top’ of the church, so could it refer to a church building on the river bank below? How long would it have been there, and are there any signs still remaining? Probably not

Did it move?

There’s reference to a castle in Whitchurch about 1100-1200 and this was the time when the Norman lords were fighting a continuous skirmish war with the local Welsh chieftains. It has been suggested that this ‘castle’, was a motte-and-bailey (an earth mound with a timber stockade on the top) and might have formed part of a line of defences set up by Gilbert-de-Clare, the Norman Lord of Glamorgan

We know that there was such a ‘castle’ behind the Fox and Hounds pub until relatively recently

It’s not unreasonable to think that a house, or two could probably have been built adjacent to the castle at the time, and maybe even a small church. For safety, such a church would need to have been quite close, perhaps only a few hundred metres away. Could it even have been on the site of the ‘old’ St Mary’s Church?

There are hardly any examples of pre-conquest churches in Wales so we would struggle to recognise one. The church would have been quite small, and probably built of masonry with a tiled or thatched roof with the outside walls finished with limewash. Could this have been the church referred to c1266 as Blancminster and Album Monasterium by the Normans?

And what was its name? Was it St Mary’s? Before the Normans, churches were often named after local saints. We’ll probably never know

Apart from the castle mound (which was finally levelled in the 1960’s) and the stream running adjacent, nothing remains. So, all of this has to be speculation; but it does sound plausible

Here are a couple of sketch maps. The first shows the area around the castle at the time of the Tithe Map in 1841. Just the castle mound, a diverted stream, a few farms and cottages, a pub and St Mary’s Church. Not very different to the early OS map

The second sketch takes us back to 1266. This is a stretch of the imagination and shows how important the castle was. Even fewer cottages and perhaps a church adjacent. No fields, no roads, just the ancient footpaths and the stream. Was the stream diverted to act as a moat? It certainly provides an excellent defensive barrier from the east

What do you think?

Next time we’ll look at ‘old’ St Mary’s and explore a little of that

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