Church of St Illtud

St Illtud's Church is a major medieval ecclesiastical complex of exceptional architectural and historical significance, displaying building phases from the Norman period through to 20th-century restoration. The church is constructed in lias limestone, quoined mainly in the same material, though the tower is quoined in Sutton stone. Sutton stone was also used for the earlier openings, teamed with a limestone of similar appearance but more tractable character, identified by Halliday as Dundry stone; the later medieval openings are in sandstone, and Bath stone was used for the 1899-1905 repairs. The roofs are covered in Welsh slate.

Overall Plan

The church consists of two distinct sections: the eastern church with nave, two aisles, chancel and west tower, and the west parochial nave which has a south porch with parvise (chamber above), and a large chapel (the Galilee), now ruinous, built against the west end with an upper floor at its west end. There is also a small room, now used as a store, to the north of the chapel, believed to have been a sacristy.

The West Church

The entrance is into the west church. The doorway, reached through a porch with a recessed chamfered two-centred arch of 13th-century type, is a plain round-arched Norman one with a Victorian plank door. The parvise above is lit by a single trefoil-headed light over the archway, with five small square openings (putlog holes) rising diagonally on either side up into the gable. The porch has a battered base with corner buttresses and a very steeply pitched gable. The right-hand buttress is corbelled out to the upper floor, which seems to have been done to accommodate a pre-existing building since demolished (shown on a plan by Halliday).

The south wall of the nave shows stonework of different characters, said by Halliday to be evidence of the incorporation of part of a pre-Norman building, with possibly two rebuildings above. To the left of the porch is a three-light arched Perpendicular window with cusped lights; to the right is a three-light square-headed Decorated window with cusped and trefoiled heads, and to the right again a two-light 13th-century window with equal trefoil-headed lights. The north wall has a window similar to this latter one, but a Victorian replacement. The dripcourse on the west side of the tower above the south slope of the west church roof suggests that the roofline has been lowered, whereas the north pitch appears to be original, though it is difficult to see any difference internally.

Interior of the West Church

The west church has a fifteen-bay 15th-century arch-braced collar beam roof with seven principal trusses and eight secondary ones. The principals carry bosses carved with the coats of arms of important local families, including one for the Nicholls added in 1899 by G E Halliday. Other features include some medieval wall paintings. An elaborate iron entrance screen to the eastern church was designed by George Pace in 1959 but glazed only in 1992. An iron spiral staircase to the parvise chamber was added in 1992 by Graham Hardy. The buttresses flanking the tower arch were added in the early 18th century, certainly before 1731 and possibly the same date as the bells, 1722, and thus added to counter the additional stresses on the tower.

The Galilee Chapel

The ruined 13th-century west Galilee building, with its former chapel, was later probably a chantry chapel (Sir Hugh Raglande's chantry). This has a 13th-century window with tracery missing in the west gable which lit the upper chapel, and large archways, once windows (surviving evidence shows where the sills were), flanked by buttresses in both north and south walls to the undercroft. Two of these medieval buttresses have been ripped off at some period, leaving large scars. The evidence suggests that this was converted to a barn at some stage after the Dissolution (note the opposed doorways), but it is unknown when it became unroofed. The interior of this section retains, in the upper part of the east wall, a multiple-moulded niche with a dripmould over (a later addition for protection) and, to the right, an ogee-headed piscina. There are two stone staircases at the west end and a further one at the north-east end leading to the stair to the upper floor of the sacristy, entered through a small two-centred doorway, with a larger three-centred arch beside it into the west church.

The Sacristy

The probably 15th-century sacristan's lodging of two storeys is built against the north wall. This has small square-headed windows, a steeply pitched roof and a gable chimney. The interior has a fireplace but was not inspected at resurvey in March 2003.

The Tower

The tower is positioned over the west end of the east church. Although, internally, the crossing is Transitional and therefore probably of around 1200, what can be seen on the outside appears 14th-century with a probably 16th-century castellated parapet. There are two stages above the roof with a single light with cusped head on the north and south faces; the one on the east face is now internal. The belfry has pairs of trefoil lights, a corbel table, and a castellated parapet with cross-eyelets.

The East Church

The east church comprises nave, chancel and north and south aisles of the later 13th century, the massive stone arcade piers built on the lines of the walls of the Norman or earlier chancel. The aisles have two-light windows with Geometric tracery, three on either side; the south-west window is now a door. Buttresses were added in 1905 between the windows on the south side to support the flying arches within. There are clerestorey windows, partly set into the aisle roofs: two on the north and one on the south, although Lambert found evidence for a second in 1888. These are two-light Perpendicular windows, the northern ones seemingly Victorian. Both aisles have three-light east and west windows. Halliday suggests that the Early English east window of the south aisle is the original east window reused when the aisle was shortened.

The Chancel

The chancel has four lancet windows with trefoil heads on the north side and a restored Perpendicular east window with two large lights, each with two smaller ones within, a panelled head and dripmould over. Probably 15th-century two-light ogee-headed windows occupy blocked arcade arches on the south side. There is a priest's door with an attached early 19th-century railed enclosure below. The north wall with coursed and squared stones is largely part of the restoration, as is the upper part of the east gable with its coping and apex cross.

Interior of the East Church

The font stands under the tower. It is a circular 12th-century bowl font with a bold scale pattern; it was moved to its present site in 1992. The crossing is carried on four clustered piers which were underpinned and rebuilt in 1899 with the consequent loss of some detail. Only one now has a carved capital with trumpet flowers and other decoration, but the other carving was already recorded as lost or damaged in 1858 (Archaeologia Cambrensis).

A particularly remarkable feature in the nave is the evidence for the two-times heightening of the roof, clearly seen on the east wall of the tower, and the very rough and unfinished nature of the three-bay arcades and chancel arch; both are clearly broken through an existing wall, presumably with a much smaller opening before. The flying buttresses were inserted in the south aisle in 1905 to counter the movement of the south arcade since the second heightening in the 15th century. The nave has a late 19th-century waggon roof constructed as part of the Lambert restoration. The aisle roofs are also Victorian.

There are restored medieval murals of St Christopher on the north side, probably 15th-century, and lozenge patterning behind the Rood over the chancel arch. The painted Royal Arms of 1604 of James I of England are displayed. A Jesse niche is reset into one of the arcade arches; it has been suggested that this might have been the reredos of the Early English church. Remains of piscinas survive in both north and south aisles. The church contains a Victorian pulpit and lectern, wall monuments (for example, to Roger Seys), and floor monuments. The Rood is by Alan Durst, 1959, but still has the medieval painted background.

The 15th-century chancel arch leads to the 13th-century chancel. The chancel has a probably 15th-century close-set arch-braced collar beam depressed waggon roof with three members running the full length. Remains of early wall paintings survive. The important Raglande reredos is in situ. This is Perpendicular in character and dates from the late 14th century. It has multiple image niches with ogee heads and many pinnacles. The cresting was mostly restored by A Caroe in 1905. There are some good monuments and a fragmentary statue of the Virgin and Child. The organ was made for Ham Manor in 1860. The six bells were cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1722 and recast in 1908.

Monuments and Furnishings

There are a number of important monuments displayed in the church which are associated with the Celtic monastic foundation at Llantwit Major. These constitute one of the chief collections of such monuments in the old county area of Glamorganshire. The most important are the Samson Cross, rescued from the churchyard, and the 'Houelt' stone. There are also 16th-century and later monuments of quality and interest.