Llantwit Major

Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan and the third largest by population after Barry and Penarth, and ahead of Cowbridge, which lies about 4.5mi to the north-east. The town centre of Llantwit Major lies about south-east of the centre of Bridgend, west of the centre of Barry, and about south-west of the centre of the Welsh capital of Cardiff.The town's name in Welsh, Llanilltud Fawr, is derived from the name of Saint Illtud, who came to the area from Brittany, Gaul. He founded the monastery of Illtud and the college attached to it, Cor Tewdws, which would grow into one of the most esteemed Christian colleges of the times. At its peak it attracted over 2000 students, including princes and numerous eminent clergymen, some now revered as saints. Destroyed by the Vikings in 987, the monastery was rebuilt in 1111 and continued to be a centre of learning governed by Tewkesbury Abbey until it closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The 13th-century St Illtyd's Church, built near the ancient monastery, is today a Grade I listed building and one of the oldest parish churches in Wales.