Gower
St Cadoc's Church, Cheriton
Hospitaller
A finely-built 13th-century church near the Burry stream — probably built by the Knights Hospitaller to replace the lost coastal church at Landimore.
St Cadoc's at Cheriton is often called the 'cathedral of Gower' for the quality of its 13th-century masonry. It stands on the Burry stream, close to the site of a mill traditionally held by the Templars and, after 1312, by the Hospitallers of Slebech.
The building appears to have been raised in the early 14th century to serve the community whose original church at nearby Landimore — granted to the Hospitallers by the de Turberville family — had been abandoned to coastal flooding and erosion. Its construction fits neatly with the moment when the Templar estates in this part of Gower passed to the Hospitallers.
The tall lancets of the chancel, the finely-carved capitals of the crossing arches and the surviving medieval piscina all speak of a wealthy 13th–14th century monastic patron — almost certainly the Knights of St John at Slebech.
Visiting
Cheriton is signposted off the B4295 on north Gower, a short drive from Llanmadoc. The church is open by day; the old mill (now a pottery) is a short walk along the stream.
Coordinates: 51.6044°N, 4.2478°W
