The Church
At the start of the 20th century, catholics in the area had to travel to Bridgend or Barry to celebrate mass and this continued for many years. As the population of Cowbridge grew, and after a catholic church opened in Llantwit Major, the towns catholics hired a bus to attend.
As the population continued to grow further mass started to be celebrated in the Bear Hotel, run at the time by Mr John Williams. Following the second world war Mr. L.E.W. Williams who moved to Verlands Cowbridge in 1933 donated some of his land, in front of the house, for the building of a Catholic Church in Cowbridge. He was anxious that the Church be built in a traditional style and his wishes were followed.
Having announced the name “St. Cadoc”, the Archbishop then spoke of the life of St. Cadoc and how he was a pioneer of Christianity in the Vale of Glamorgan. His Grace made the comparison with Fr. Magner who had become the first Parish Priest in Cowbridge and LLantwit Major since the Reformation. Following the service, there was a luncheon at Verlands, the Williams family home.
Initially the altar was positioned against the east end, when Mass was celebrated by the priest with his back to the people. A canopy was suspended over the altar and both altar and canopy were draped with burgundy red brocade hangings, brought back from Northern Ireland by Fr. Morris. After Vatican II, the high altar was removed and the altar table moved from the wall to the centre of the sanctuary. The tabernacle remained positioned on the east wall to the south of the altar.
During these years, the Catholic population of Cowbridge grew steadily and by 1975 there were approximately 155-160 Catholics attending Mass at St. Cadoc’s coming not only from Cowbridge but the surrounding villages, extending as far east as Bonvilston, as far north as Ystradowen and as far west as Treoes.
Mass was celebrated every Sunday morning, each Holy Day of Obligation, and every Thursday morning. Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals were held; and First Confessions and First Communions took place in St. Cadoc’s, although for Confirmation the children combined with those of Llantwit Major and received the Sacrament of Confirmation in Our Lady and St. Illtyd. When Father Dewi Davies arrived as Parish Priest in 1986, he added an evening Mass on Tuesday in addition to the Thursday morning Mass.
During the 1980’s, the growth in Mass attendance resulted in St. Cadoc’s becoming increasingly over-crowded. It became normal to have people standing for Mass because all the seating was taken, and on special feasts, Easter Sunday in particular, the crowds were so great that a procession was impossible, and there would be Mass attendees crowded in to the Sacristy and standing outside.
The enlargement of the Church became a priority, and in 1987 permission was sought from the Archdiocese for an extension. Plans were finally approved in July 1990. As described in a bulletin to the Church Council, the extension would enable “an extra 60 to 100 people to be seated at Mass. With the work complete, Emeritus Archbishop John Aloysius Ward dedicated the extended church and celebrated Mass there in December 1992.
The Cache
The cache is an Offset Letterbox Hybrid cache where the final is a short walk away from the church. To find the final cache location, you will need to find the following information to solve the final coordinates. (Note change of coordinates calculation due to info change at the church)
At the listed coordinates you will find a noticeboard. In what year was the church established - Let that be ABCD
On the outside walls of the church are painted a number of grey (used to be red) crosses - How many = E
Just inside the gate is a set of footsteps on the left. On the left hand side of these steps are some hand rails - How many "balls" top this set of hand railings = F
The final cache can be found a short walk away at
N 51 2F.CA(B-B) W 003 2(D+A+A).E(B/E)(F-C)
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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