INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Website of the Parish of Laleston w Tythegston. The parish is situated on the outskirts of the market town of Bridgend on the edge of the Vale of Glamorgan. The parish serves the communities of Laleston, Bryntirion, parts of Llangewydd Court, and the new development of Broadlands. It has been a centre of Christian worship since 1173 when there is a record of it described as a chapel belonging to Tewkesbury Abbey. However two Christian headstones of the 11th-12th century have been found in the parish, and this together with the raised previously circular churchyard, suggest a pre-Norman date for the church is more correct.

Little is known of the origins of the parish, or indeed of the village of Laleston. The first mention of the name is in 1268, when it is known as Laweleston, or slightly later as lagele'f (lagele's) tun [OE tun=farm]). Possibly the village has a personal name derived from the old Scandinavian. In 1180 William, Earl of Gloucester, granted land to William Lageles and it is known that William and Thomas Lageles gave land to Margam Abbey in the 13th cent.

But the Church of St David is older than that. Of the pre-Norman church there are no certain remains, and it was probably built of mud. There is evidence that this church was rebuilt on a much grander scale c1186. But it is somewhere in the period of the 14th - 15th cent that we must place a large-scale rebuilding of Laleston church.

But now come with us and have a look at the church and find out what goes on in this lively and vibrant parish.