St Dochdwy's Church
The current St Dochdwy's church is a 19th building, designed by Samuel Charles Fripp of
Bristol and built by David Jones of Penarth at cost of £2,600. It was consecrated in July
1866 by Alfred Ollivant, Bishop of Llandaff.
The first permanent church building was erected in the 12th century, and after some
restoration in the 18th century remained in use until 1820. A new church was built on the
site but this church proved too small for a growing population and it was removed and
rebuilt as St. James’ Leckwith, making way for the current St. Dochdwy’s.
The present church incorporates the Norman chancel arch, which forms the entrance at
the base of the tower, and a pair of medieval stained-glass windows depicting St Peter and
St Paul, now set in the west wall.
The building is traditional in style and is of limestone with a slate roof: the interior has
boldly patterned polychromatic brickwork. The tower has a saddleback style roof. St
Dochdwy's ‘was built at almost the same time and in the same style as St Augustine's,
Penarth, which it resembles in many respects.
The church is dedicated to St Dochdwy (otherwise Docco) who is mentioned in the life of
St Cadog of Llancarfan and the life of St Samson of Dol.
St. Dochdwy’s is noted for the Celtic Cross of Irbic in its churchyard, dating to the 10 th or
11th century, when Llandough was an important monastic site, along with Llantwit Major
and Llancarfan. The monument is constructed in Sutton stone, and consists of four
moulded blocks, though the top of the cross itself is missing: a similar one can be seen at
Llandaff Cathedral. The carving is of an interlacing pattern, and the base includes a
carving of a horseman, with two human faces on the sides. The stone includes an
inscription IRBICI, which means “[the stone] of Irbic”, but nothing is known of this person
or exactly why the cross was erected.
 Further information on this building and other Llandough buildings can be found in the Vale of
Glamorgan publication County Treasures: Llandough (near Penarth) [2007] downlaodable at
https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/files/Living/Planning/Policy/County_Treasures/Llandough.pdf
 Further information is given on the parish website:
http://www.parishofpenarthandllandough.co.uk/page13.html
 Further information is given on the Wales Directory website:
http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/tourist-attractions/Churches_and_Chapels/Wales11871.htm
 A discussion of the church and the cemetery is given in the article “Llandough” by Alan
Thomas and Neil Holbrook in the journal Current Archaeology 146 (1996) pages 73-77.