History
The first record of the church at St Brides Major dates back to the first half of the 12th century, when sometime before 1138, Maurice de Londres, Lord of nearby Ogmore, transferred the patronage of St. Brigid’s church and the priory at Ewenny to St. Peter’s Abbey in Gloucester. The church was rebuilt in the 14th century and further enlarged with a tower the following century. In 1851, it was thoroughly restored, with the addition of a sacristy and porch, and the removal of the rood screen.
Architecture
The church was built of unworked stone, laid unevenly and jointed with mortar. The building was situated at the southern foot of a low hill, on an old road used by the Romans and later by the Anglo-Normans, heading for nearby Ogmore Castle to the northwest or to the settlement and important church in Llantwit Major to the southeast. The churchyard area was likely fenced as early as the 12th century, to separate the settlement’s residential and economic buildings from the church and to protect the burials from animals.
The church initially consisted of a rectangular nave and a lower, narrower, rectangular chancel of unusual length. The two parts were connected by a semicircular chancel arcade, constructed of carefully crafted voussoirs, with an archivolt set on massive, grooved imposts (reminiscent of a detail used at Ewenny Priory). Lighting was likely provided by narrow windows with splays facing inward, perhaps similar to the chancel arcade, with semicircular arches. In the 14th century, these were converted into openings topped with trefoils in ogee arches. Traditionally, a more impressive window was inserted in the eastern wall of the chancel, where a pointed arch with two-light tracery using ogee arch motifs was placed. Two openings were also made in the interior, on the sides of the chancel arcade, to improve visibility of the main altar. The church’s entrance, rather unusually, led from the north and perhaps also from the west.
In the 15th century, a quadrangular tower was built on the west side, reinforced with stepped corner buttresses and decorated with architectural details in the English Perpendicular Gothic style. Its walls were topped with a crenellated parapet mounted on corbels projecting considerably from the wall faces. On the parapet four corner pinnacles topped with fleurons were built, set on corbels carved in the shape of grotesque heads. Approximately halfway up, the tower’s exterior facades were divided by a string course, and at the base, a prominent plinth cornice framed the entire structure. This provided not only visually striking vertical elements but also horizontal accents.
A rather unusual solution for the region was to locate the tower’s staircase in the not high southern projection, lit by an opening resembling an embrasure. The bell tower’s storey was lit on each side by a two-light window with cinquefoil tracery within quadrangular surrounds, beneath simple hood moulds. A larger, three-light, pointed window was located on the west side of the first floor. Just below it, a moulded portal with a pointed arch was opened within the quadrangular surround.
Current state
To this day, 14th-century windows remain in the southern and northern (hidden within the sacristy) walls of the chancel. Unfortunately, the nave windows were altered in the 19th century. Other modern additions include the sacristy and the porch located on the northern side of the nave, although the latter is maintained in a style that closely reflects the original parts of the building. The late Gothic, richly decorated tower is well-preserved. Inside the church, a 13th-century tombstone of Sir John le Botiler of Dunraven and an unnamed priest have been preserved. A 16th-17th-century timber roof truss is visible in the chancel. The oldest surviving architectural detail is the 12th-century chancel arcade.
bibliography:
Newman J., The buildings of Wales, Glamorgan, London 1995.
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.