Llanmaes () is a small village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

near the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major () is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and ...

. The population in 2011 was 403.

Amenities

Llanmaes has a long history, with remains of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fort in fields next to the coast road. There may have been a church at Llanmaes as early as the 5th or 6th century, but the church we see today (St Cattwg's) was built in the 13th century with the earliest mention in 1254.Church of St Cattwg, Llan-Maes
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 10 April 2016. The four-stage tower was added in 1632 and the church was restored in the late Victorian period. Today St Cattwg's is one of the nine churches making up the Rectorial Benefice of

within the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

. It is a tranquil place with a number of interesting medieval features. Historic highlights include a beautifully carved Norman tub font, probably of 12th-century date, with a decorated rim. The lower part of the chancel screen is Victorian, but the upper part is late medieval and incorporates part of the original 15th-century rood screen. On the north wall of the church is a mysterious faded wall painting depicting what appears to be of St George and dragon. Some claim that the medieval picture depicts a Biblical scene from the Book of Revelation. Others have speculated that it represents St George, the dragon and a princess with long blonde hair. The dragon figure is quite worn but you can make out its forked tongue. The princess's parents appear to look down from the upper right of the scene while the knight is at the upper left, with flowing yellow hair and a red cross on either shoulder. Outside in the churchyard is the base of an old preaching cross, used as a pulpit by John Wesley when he visited Llanmaes on Tuesday April 4, 1749. He wrote in his journal; "At twelve I preached at Lanmais, to a loving earnest people, who do not desire to be any wiser than God". More recently, both the interior and exterior of St Cattwg's Church was used as the location for the fictional wedding of Gavin Shipman and Stacey West in the hit BBC TV comedy show ''Gavin and Stacey''. Llanmaes House - panoramio

The village has one long road going through the middle of the village, linking Llantwit with

Cowbridge Cowbridge () is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for elections to ...

and passing through the village of St Mary Church. Also, along this section of the village which has the oldest, most picturesque cottages and houses lie the remains of the keep to the Norman Malefant Castle, which is now a ruin and lies behind a modern house. Much of the village now consists of relatively modern detached housing along the main Llanmaes road. The Village green has been preserved, across from the village's only remaining

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, "The Blacksmiths Arms", with the old forge opposite. The original Brown Lion pub and quaint post-office/village shop building, now both private dwellings, can be seen in the older part of the village. Llanmaes has a village hall. Llanmaes Brook flows through the heart of the village before bending East and draining away towards

Eglwys Brewis Eglwys Brewis () is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located just to the north of the village of St Athan, south of Flemingston and northeast of Llantwit Major. Greenlands, Vale of Glamorgan, Greenlands and St Mary Church, ...

. Finally, Llanmaes House is a large, lime washed building sited opposite the church, communal playing fields and children's playground and is of much historical interest. It dates from circa 1600 and is Grade II* listed.Llanmaes House, Llan-Maes
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 10 April 2016. The village has won the Vale of Glamorgan Best Kept Village competition on many occasions, including 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2009. In 1997 it also won the National Village of the Year Award (Community Life category). In early 2014 Sainsbury's proposed building a large supermarket in Llanmaes.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in the Vale of Glamorgan Communities in the Vale of Glamorgan