LLANGIWG CHURCH HISTORY
St Ciwg
Llangiwg Church is of Celtic foundation and is named after Ciwg, a sixth century Saint. Ciwg the Confessor was a primitive Christian who introduced Christianity to the area between AD 542-568. Ciwg was the son of a noble family and is considered the founder of Llangiwg - his festival day was the 29th of June.
The building
The first church on the site (in the 6th century) was probably made of wattle and daub; the first stone church was probably built about four centuries later. The current tower is a Norman construction dating back to the 13th century. It was originally much higher but had to be reduced in height due to the leaning wall. The aisle section of the church dates back to Tudor times (16th century) but was refurbished in 1812. In 1882 the stone slats on the roof were replaced with Caernarvon slates. A new roof was put on the church in 1997. The church is built of local sandstone with occasional Old Red Sandstone boulders.
St. David's or Llandaff?
Llangiwg was a Catholic Church which paid homage to the Pope until Henry VIII's time (16th century).
In the 12th century the Bishops of St. David's and Llandaff were involved in litigation regarding the boundary of their dioceses. In 1119 and 1128, Gower, in which Llangiwg was situated, was deemed to be in the diocese of Llandaff. However, in 1131 Bishop Bernard of St. David's produced new evidence which caused the Pope to reverse this decision. Llangiwg continued in the diocese of St. David's from 1131 to 1923. At the time of the dispute the churches were Roman Catholic, but by 1534 Parliament had removed the last trace of papal authority over the Church and Henry VIII became the Supreme Head.
Moving to the valley
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Llangiwg Church was in a central position, but with the development of Parson's Iron and Tinplate works and increased population concentrated in the valley, it became necessary to have a more conveniently located church. The building of St. Peter's Church started in 1858 and was completed in 1860.
Cholera epidemic at Ystalyfera
During the cholera epidemic at Ystalyfera in the Autumn of 1866, the graveyards became marked centres of virulence. It was said that many bodies were conveyed to Llangiwg Church cemetery to be buried as cholera victims after being refused in other cemeteries. The poor who died in the the Pontardawe workhouse were also buried there.
The last service
Christmas 2001 was the last service to be held in the church before it was closed.
Recent history
The church was put on the market in 2003 to be sold by informal tender, with a guide price of £90,000. Most of the land surrounding the church is occupied by graveyard which was not included in the sale. Apparently this deterred potential buyers. The gravestones themselves cannot be touched for 100 years from the last entry, which was early 2004. The church itself is a grade II listed building which means the outside cannot be altered.
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