Church Of St Donat

St Donat’s Church stands in the small Vale of Glamorgan village of Welsh St Donats. It is a Grade I listed building, set among quiet fields a few kilometres inland from the Bristol Channel. The church first appears in records from 1180 as a chapel linked to Tewkesbury Abbey. By the 16th century it had become the parish church for the local community. In the 17th century it was briefly a chapel of Llanblethian, but by the 18th century it received a stipend from Queen Anne’s Bounty and became a curacy. The church’s long history is marked by repeated repairs. In 1890 a local newspaper described the building as “unfit for use” because the oak roof was unsafe, plaster was falling, and water poured through a cracked tower. Kempson and Fowler carried out a major restoration in 1891, fixing the roof, re-plastering walls, and installing new windows, heating, lighting, and seating. Further work in 1915 added an organ and more lighting, while a 1996 re-plastering revealed medieval stonework and showed parts of the church date from the 13th century. Inside, visitors find a plain whitewashed nave with a restored oak roof and rows of simple pews. The chancel contains a modern pulpit and lectern set against older stone walls. Two new windows from the 1891 restoration let in light, while the tower’s repaired masonry stands above the churchyard. The surrounding churchyard wall, itself Grade II listed, encloses a quiet space of gravestones and yew trees.