Photo Credit: Church in Wales
A 13th century chapel, recently transformed to house 1,000-year-old Celtic crosses, is preparing for a Royal visitor.
The Galilee Chapel at St Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major, which was transformed last year from a roofless ruin into an award-winning new visitor centre, will welcome HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall during their visit to Wales on July 1.
The site itself was founded by the Welsh monk Illtud and dates back to the year 500 and early Christianity in Wales. The ancient Celtic crosses were cleaned up and moved to their new home inside the Galilee Chapel as part of the £850,000 project to tell the story of the church’s role in developing Christianity across Wales and beyond to the wider Celtic world.
One of the Celtic crosses is the Abbot Samson’s Pillar Cross, sometimes known as the King Stone, and believed to be one of the oldest known inscribed Christian stones in Great Britain.
The Rector of Llantwit Major, the Revd Huw Butler, will greet the Prince and the Duchess and give a brief introduction to the Galilee Chapel Project.
During the visit, the Prince and Duchess will meet several of the parishioners and those involved with the project. They include:
- Parishioner Gladys Kilby, 94, the oldest member of the church who cut the ribbon to officially open the chapel during a celebration weekend last November.
- Lee Mayes, the Construction Site Manager, who enjoyed working on the church renovation project so much that he had a lasting reminder tattooed on his arm – in the form of Celtic crosses.
Mr Butler said, “We are all really excited that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are making a special visit to the Galilee Chapel. As far as we know, it is the first ever Royal visit to the church making it such an historic event.”
“The restoration of the Galilee Chapel has really raised the profile of the church and the town and we are attracting more and more visitors here all the time – not just from Wales but from all over the world.
“Our ancient stone crosses are now being displayed properly and have been placed so that visitors can walk all around them to see them from all angles.”
The £850,000 project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, CADW, Vale of Glamorgan Creative Rural Communities (European Social Fund), the Representative Body of the Church in Wales; Welsh Church Act Fund, All Churches Trust and the James Pantyfedwen Foundation.
The restoration recently won a Regional RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Design Award and has been put forward for a national award.
An archive room, toilets, mezzanine floor for meetings and a tea station are also provided within the Chapel to support the community use of the church in welcoming tourists, schools and local community groups.
Following prayers and a Bible reading, the St Illtud’s Church Choir will lead the hymn singing before the Royal party are shown around the Chapel by the Rector, accompanied by the architect Michael Davies and Gareth Kiddie, the Interpretation and Activities co-ordinator.
The Prince and the Duchess will sign the visitors’ book before they leave.
To find out more about the Galilee Chapel visit http://www.illtudsgalileechapel.org.uk/ and to see video footage, visit http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/news/2013/11/galilee-chapel-st-illtuds-church-llantwit-major/