Ilston part one

The village of Ilston, is situated in the wooded valley.  Within the village is the parish church, St. Illtyds.

St. Illtyds church

St. Illtyds church derives from a 6th-century monastic cell. This cell was eventually replaced by a wooden Celtic oratory and, after the Norman conquest, a stone church. The present church dates to the 1220s and 1230s, when John de Broes, Lord of Gower, presented it to the Knight Templar. 

Situated in the churchyard is a massive yew tree, which is supposed to be the same age as the original church.

Yew trees were important during pre-Christian times, as they were planted at Bronze Age burial sites. 

Ilston plays an important in the development of the Baptist movement, with the first meeting taking place near the ruins of the old Trinity well, the site of a pre-Reformation chapel.  It was during 1649, when the “Cromwellian church” was founded under the Calvinistic leadership of John Myles.

Francis Kilvert 

During the 19^th century, the diarist and cleric, Francis Kilvert visited and stayed at Ilston rectory.