History
Church of St. Cadoc in Cheriton was built at the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century to replace the temple in Landimore, abandoned due to the raise of the coastline of the sea. The first information about it comes from 1472. In the nineteenth century, the church was renovated twice, but at the same time the southern porch was transformed and the sacristy was added from the north.
Architecture
In the Middle Ages, the church consisted of a spacious, rectangular nave to which, atypically from the east, a massive tower was added, and then a quadrilateral chancel. At the southern entrance to the nave, a porch was erected, which covered the portal with a richly moulded pointed archivolt, mounted on corbels carved in the shape of human heads and flanked by shafts with capitals decorated with floral motifs. The four-sided tower was crowned with a large parapet, battlement and an garret covered with a hip roof. It cannot be ruled out that it performed a defensive function due to frequent pirate raids on the shores of Gower.
Current state
The church in Cheriton is the most elaborate church on the Gower Peninsula, and also widely recognized as one of the most beautiful temples, which also avoided significant transformations in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the only non-transformed window is a biforium topped with trefoils in the eastern wall of the chancel, the other windows were renovated in the 19th century. The porch was also modernized, and an early modern sacristy was added to the north.
bibliography:
Harrison P., Castles of God. Fortified Religious Buildings of the World, Bury St Edmunds 2004.
Salter M., The old parish churches of Gwent, Glamorgan & Gower, Malvern 2002.
Wooding J., Yates N., A Guide to the churches and chapels of Wales, Cardiff 2011.
Website britishlistedbuildings.co.uk, Church of St Cadoc A Grade I Listed Building in Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton (Llangynydd, Llanmadog a Cheriton), Swansea.