Llangiwg Church
Llangiwg Church was dedicated to Saint Ciwg, a contemporary of Saint David who brought Christianity to the Swansea Valley in the mid sixth century. He was a royal from a Welsh dynasty which ruled the whole of mid Wales, and his grandfather, Brychan, was so important that he gave his name to Breconshire - Brycheiniog. Ciwg was one of many monks in this period who traversed Wales, bringing the religion of the Celtic Church to communities, usually preaching outside in spots marked by a stone cross, which would later serve as the sites for the erection of the first chapels.
Llangiwg Church would originally have been a wattle-and-daub construction, with the first stone church built following the Norman Conquest. The church was substantially rebuilt in 1812, but parts of the original stone construction remain. Parts of the tower date back to the 13th century, and the aisle section to Tudor times. Llangiwg Church saw its last service at Christmas 2001, and was then closed, before being put up for sale in 2004.
The Friends of Llangiwg are a community association who came together to keep the church out of private hands, and to preserve it for the community. With substantial pledges of financial support from sponsors, the Friends of Llangiwg were able to buy the church in 2006-7, incorporating themselves as a company limited by guarantee with charitable status granted in 2008. Working in partnership, the Friends of Llangiwg and the Llangiwg Community Association look after the church, the one developing it as an educational and social centre, the other responsible for the fabric and refurbishment of the structure of the building.
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