St Mary the Virgin Church is a

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

and ruined

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Caerau with Ely,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was built in the 13th century on a Roman encampment and closed for the last time in 1973.

History

The ruins of the church stand on the site of

Caerau Hillfort Caerau Hillfort () is a large triangular multivallate Iron Age hillfort, built on a previously occupied Neolithic site, occupying the western tip of an extensive ridge-top plateau in the western suburbs of Caerau and Ely, Cardiff, Wales. It ...

on a natural plateau at the Caerau end of a hill range extending from

Leckwith Leckwith () is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff. Historically, the parish of Leckwith also included land on the east side of the river Ely that is now part of Cardiff itself. This area is also commonly known as Leck ...

to Caerau. The church is first mentioned in the Taxatio Ecclesiasticus of

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV (; born Girolamo Masci; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death, on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be elected pope.McBrie ...

in 1291 and was probably built in 1260. Since then it has undergone many repairs and alterations. It was substantially rebuilt by the Rev Victor Jones in 1960-61. In 1973 it was closed and deconsecrated and has subsequently deteriorated into a ruin due to continuous vandalism. Since 1999 a group of former and current parishioners, the Friends of St Mary’s Church at Caerau, have been campaigning to preserve and commemorate the remains of the church. ''

Archaeologia Cambrensis ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'' is a Welsh archaeological and historical scholarly journal published annually by the Cambrian Archaeological Association. It contains historical essays, excavation reports, and book reviews, as well as society notes ...

'' in 1901 describes its 1848 state as follows: The building became Grade II listed in 1980.Church of St Mary, Caerau
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 31 August 2013.

References

External links

Friends of St. Mary's Church at Caerau

Parish of Caerau with Ely
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caerau, Mary the Virgin 13th-century church buildings in Wales Church ruins in Wales Grade II listed ruins in Wales Grade II listed churches in Cardiff History of Cardiff Former churches in Cardiff