Parish Church of The Holy Trinity

Cadw's description

Location

Located at the centre of Llandow village, opposite The Great House.

History

Transitional style with C12 origins. The chancel was restored in 1712 by the rector of Llandow. In 1889 the whole church was restored and the South porch was added. The roof of the nave and chancel were replaced by a scissor-beam roof, buttressing was added to the nave and chancel, the pews, pulpit and much of the fenestration was replaced.

Exterior

The church consists of nave, stepped down chancel, South porch and West tower with saddleback roof. Constructed of limestone rubble, with slate roofs to chancel, nave and tower. Two-light, cusped E window with Perpendicular style tracery to the head, sandstone dressings, simple hoodmould beneath a relieving arch. Staged buttress to each corner of the E elevation of the chancel. Stone cross to coped gable. S elevation of the chancel has a central, narrow round-headed priest''s door. To the right of this is a monument set high up on the wall, close to the C19 buttress. The monument is inscribed in Latin "Hancorne, rector of Llandow A.M. from the year 1681, restored this chancel in the year 1712". The chancel is lit on the S side by a single, early lancet at the E end and a two-light window with square label. The nave has a central gabled porch with C19, two-centred outer arch, with a round-headed Norman inner doorway. On the E side of the porch are three upstanding C18 tombstones. To the right of the porch is a square-headed C19 , three-light ogee Perpendicular window, to the left is a similar two-light window. The tower is tall and narrow with a saddleback roof and strong batter. Each face has a louvred belfry window except the W face which has a square-headed opening with timber lintel, set at high level. There is a single, square-headed stairlight to the S face. N elevation of the chancel lit by a single cusped, ogee window with trefoils to the spandrels under a flat, timber lintel. Buttress to the far E end is different to those on the S side. The S face of the chancel is unlit.

The churchyard contains a good collection of C18 and C19 tombstones. To the right hand side of the south gateway are the remains of two churchyard cross bases.

Interior

The chancel arch is small and two-centred, resting upon large Norman cushion capitals. Two small squints flank the arch. A large outer arch projects slightly from the chancel wall above the smaller arch. C19 scissor-truss roof to chancel and nave. Decorative C19 reredos, with three stone cusped and crocketted ogee arches supported on dark green marble (?) pillars, possibly incorporating earlier stonework. Norman pillar piscina to the SE corner of the chancel. A C19 Neo-classical memorial to the Jones family of Llandow is set into the S wall of the chancel, showing a classical white marble urn draped in black. The pulpit and pews date from the late C19 restoration. The Norman font is located immediately to the W of the S door and has a bold-roll moulding to the top. Narrow two-centred arch into tower.

Reason for designation

Listed grade II* as an example of a small parish church with substantial amount of surviving medieval fabric.