St Cenydd’s Church, Llangennith

At the end of the Gower peninsula, the collection of heritage sites connected to the implausible tales of St Cenydd makes for an enjoyable spiritual adventure

‍Highlights

• Possible grave of St Cenydd
• Celtic carved stone
• Holy well
• Hermitage island

St Cenydd’s father was either the monk St Gildas or a Breton prince who seduced his own daughter, according to different medieval histories. Such outlandish parentage seems relatively plausible when compared to other tales told about this 6th-century missionary. He was said to be born in Brittany with a crippling disease and cast out to sea in a cradle made from willow branches. Luckily, he was washed up on a tiny island near Llangennith.

The young child was protected here by the sort of forces only a Celtic saint could muster: a flock of friendly seagulls, intervention by angels, and a miraculous bell, shaped like a breast. Not my words, but those of John Capgrave, a 15th-century monk who diligently compiled a history of Welsh saints from older records—never once complaining about his source material.

At least St Cenydd’s church in Llangennith is conventional enough for a 6th-century saint: a classic combination of holy well, spectacular landscapes, and an ancient stone carved with intricate Celtic-style knotwork. It is visited by the Gower Pilgrimage Way.

The well is easy to find, on the opposite side of the road from the churchyard entrance. It sits in a little stone wellhouse, its strong flow emerging from a metal spout. Two stones jut from the top of the roof like lopsided ears, the left-hand one carved with a simple cross. The actual wellspring appears to be a few meters uphill, hidden beneath a capped stone structure.

The carved stone slab can be seen inside the church, covered with an intricate knotwork pattern. It was removed from the nave floor in 1884, where it was believed to cover the grave of St Cenydd, and stored in the vestry. In 2008, the slab was moved into its current position at the end of the south aisle, housed beneath a medieval niche arch.

The site of St Cenydd’s grave is no longer marked as far as I could tell. His skull was venerated here as an important relic up until the end of the 15th century when it was moved to North Wales and subsequently lost. Only the grave slab now remains from the Celtic period. The current church is mostly 13th century, heavily restored in the Victorian era.‍

Burry Holms and Worm’s Head Island

There are tidal islands at either end of the long sweeping beach below Llangennith. The southern one, on the left as you face the sea, is called Worm’s Head Island, the place where St Cenydd’s cradle was washed ashore.

At the other end of the beach is Burry Holms, 1 mile from Llangennith by road followed by a mile walking over undulating dunes. Ruins of a 12th-century stone building can be seen facing the mainland—all that remains of a chapel complex marking the site of St Cenydd’s supposed hermitage.

Only a small section of the wall is tall enough to be spotted from the mainland, which was part of a 13th-century hall. The chapel itself is 40m to the south, the low foundations of a rectangular building hard to spot from a distance and half buried in the long grass. Llangennith church holds a service here on a Sunday near 5 July, St Cenydd’s festival day.

Directions

St Cenydd’s Church, The Green, Llangennith SA3 1HY

W3W: warm.flask.edicts

GPS: 51.5997N 4.2702W (church)

W3W: array.payback.gala

GPS: 51.6093N 4.3107W (chapel ruin on Burry Holms)‍

St Cenydd’s church is in the middle of the village and is unlocked during the day, with a key also held by a local shop.

To visit Burry Holms, drive northwest out of the village, following signs to the beach/traeth and then to Broughton. After a mile, park in the car park before the entrance to Broughton Farm holiday camp and follow the footpath over the dunes, heading towards the right-hand end of the sweeping bay. Burry Holms can only be safely accessed for 2½ hours around low tide. Its swirling currents are not to be tested, particularly as the Bristol Channel has a rapid tidal fall. Tide times are available online.