by Ivor Williams
There is an old tale that the church at Landimore was lost to the sea. We now know there was some truth to this. Cheriton was once part of the extensive community of Landimore. There was a church exactly where the church is now. On Saint Michael’s Day, 28th September 1014, it was almost destroyed by a tsunami caused by a meteor landing in the Atlantic. A wave 20m high spread along the coast of Europe; up the Irish Sea to Scotland; along the English coast and English Channel as far as Germany. It was devastating. It would have filled Cheriton Valley to the level of the bar in The Britannia – if it had been there. The church was left in a ‘ruinous state’. Only part of the West wall of the nave remained.
Sometime before 1165, the de Turberville family granted the church and parish to the Knights Hospitaler, who built the church we see today in the late 1200s or early 1300s. This is when Churchtown became a place – later Cheriton.
In the late 1800s a new porch and vestry were added to the earlier building, along with extensive fine carving by the Rector and historian, the Reverend JD Davies. St. Cadoc’s is the only parish church among the seven Grade One listed buildings in the county of Swansea.
Glebe House, which was also built by the Order, is contemporary with the church and is the oldest occupied building in Gower with several significant architectural features which have resulted in a Grade 2 listing.
Not to be confused with the Glebe house there was Great House which is dated to the early 1600s. Sir Matthew Craddock has built a fine country house which he could visit from his very large mansion in the grounds of Swansea Castle. The Great House was located on the left of the road as you go uphill from the bridge towards Llanmadoc. Apart from the main house there would have been various supporting service buildings in the grounds. The house was demolished in the early 1800s and the only remains are some of the possible boundary walls, and so we agree Sheraton is bursting with History while we are still discovering more information various elements to get a clearer picture of the history of the village.