England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Porthkerry St Curig

The Parish

The parish of Porthkerry lies in the extreme south of Glamorgan forming a stretch of the county's coastline with the outer Bristol Channel. Porthkerry is located about 2 miles west of the port & resort of Barry and stands about a mile south of the A4226 road which heads westwards out of Barry. Porthkerry is a small village which is dominated by the proximity of Cardiff Airport as it stands just east of the main runway. The configuration of the parish is something of an oddity, a small patch surrounds the village whilst a second detached area of similar size stands on the edge of Barry. Despite the proximity of the coast Porthkerry would have primarily been a farming parish with almost equal measure of pasture and crops. Modern developments have come to the parish with the railway line from Barry to Llantwit Major passing through and granting neighbouring Rhoose a station. A small brook passes east of the small village taking drainage to the nearby sea. Porthkerry is sited at around 40 metres above the sea with land rising inland to a general height of between 60 & 70 metres. Porthkerry parish was one of the smallest in its county covering just 660 acres which would have supported a population of around 100 parishioners. Like most of Wales Porthkerry is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Curig's church stands immediately east of the railway and is reached from the main access road to Rhoose from the A4226 by a narrow lane headed towards the coastline. The church is a rather small one and curious in that the northern walls of both nave and chancel are without windows. The chancel's southern face shows typical lancet window of the 13th Century Early English Period and it is likely that the southern doorway to the nave is of similar vintage and it is likely the wider nave and narrow chancel were built during a single 13th century campaign. The church has a 3-stage western tower which is slightly narrower than the nave to which it is attached, the tower is probably 15th century and in the Perpendicular style. The church received a major overhaul in 1867, much more than the typical Victorian work, the unstable east wall of the nave and the chancel arch were completely rebuilt. The building was re-roofed with modern trusses, the south porch was heavily reconstructed, and the north vestry (sacristy) was added using more finely squared stones. Further work was required by 1958 when the 1958, the top of the tower was rebuilt, introducing the modern castellated parapet supported by corbels. The lane leading to the church leaves Porthkerry Road by the Leisure Park heading southeast, at the railway is a substantial car park allowing a relaxed visit, a bridge crosses to the churchyard which has no obstacles for the photographer.