Venues

All Saints Church

All Saints Church

All Saints Church, Victoria Square, Penarth CF64 3HQ

All Saints Church was built by the Earl of Plymouth in 1892 on a site that was previously used as the town’s cricket and rugby field. The church is now surrounded by a square of later housing, although the original grassed area has been retained. The church was destroyed by a German air raid in 1943 and rebuilt and reopened in 1955.

All Saints Church on Google Maps

Ewenny Priory

Ewenny Priory

Ewenny Priory (off A48), nr Bridgend CF35 5BW

Ewenny Priory is the most complete and impressive Norman church in South Wales and one of the finest examples of a fortified church building in Europe. It was completed by 1126 and in 1141 it became a priory of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter, Gloucester. The nave of the priory, with its rounded arches and thick pillars, is in use as the parish church. The eastern or monastic end contains the tombs of the de Londres family, a medieval altar and a reproduction of the watercolour of the Priory painted by JPW Turner in 1795.

Ewenny Priory on Google Maps

The Staircase Hall at Fonmon Castle

Fonmon Castle

Fonmon Castle, Castle Road, Fonmon, nr Barry CF62 3ZN

Fonmon is one of the few medieval castles which is still lived in as a home. It was built by the St. John family in the early 13th century and has changed hands only once since. Although most of the present castle dates from the post-medieval period, the rectangular keep was built c.1200 and is still the core of the castle. In later centuries the castle was enlarged by adding wings to the medieval keep and today it boasts a magnificent Georgian interior.

Fonmon Castle on Google Maps

Holy Cross Church

Holy Cross Church

Church Street, Cowbridge CF71 7BB

The medieval church was originally built as a Chapel of Ease of the parish church in Llanblethian and was probably founded along with the town. It was extended in the 14th and 15th centuries, and restored by John Pritchard from 1848-53 and George Pace in the 20th century. The church is tucked away just off the High Street, and dominated by the huge 14th century fortified tower which is topped by an impressive octagonal battlement.

Holy Cross Church on Google Maps

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (credit: Nick Guttridge, Y Law BFLS)

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3ER

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is one of the UK’s leading centres of specialist training in music, theatre and related professions. In 2011 a £22.5million development led to the opening of the Dora Stoutzker Hall, a state of the art chamber recital hall which has established itself as one of the busiest classical music venues anywhere in the country.

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on Google Maps

St Augustine's Church

St Augustine’s Church

Church Place, Penarth CF64 1BA

Situated on the Penarth headland, St Augustine’s Church with its distinctive tower is an imposing landmark that can be seen for miles around. The original church was demolished in 1865 and the current building erected the following year. The church was designed by the famous Victorian architect William Butterfield and has a particularly impressive interior that uses a mixture of ochre, pink, red, cream and black brick and stone.

St Augustine’s Church on Google Maps

St Donats Arts Centre

St Donats Arts Centre

St Donats Arts Centre, Llantwit Major CF61 1WF

St Donats Arts Centre is housed within the site of Atlantic College at St Donats Castle, 2.5 miles from Llantwit Major and 22 miles west of Cardiff. The Centre grew out of the use of the medieval Tythe Barn which was converted into a professionally equipped venue in the late 1970s. The centre has long been involved in the Vale of Glamorgan Festival and in 1993 launched the Beyond the Border international storytelling festival.

St Donats Arts Centre on Google Maps

Wales Millennium Centre

Wales Millennium Centre

home to BBC Hoddinott Hall and Urdd Hall
Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, Cardiff CF10 5AL

The Wales Millennium Centre is one of Europe’s foremost arts centres and home to a range of arts organisations including Welsh National Opera, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, National Dance Company Wales, Hijinx Theatre, Ty Credd and Literature Wales. The front of the building is dominated by six foot high windows that form a bi-lingual inscription by poet Gwyneth Lewis: “In these stones horizons sing” and “Creu gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen” which translates as “Creating truth like glass from inspiration’s furnace”.

Wales Millennium Centre on Google Maps

Turner House Gallery 

 

Plymouth  Road, Penarth CF64 3DH

James Pyke Thompson, a wealthy Penarth resident conceived the idea of building Turner House Gallery, so named in homage to the painter, in 1888., Thompson used the gallery to further one of his social concerns; that the public should be able to view the contents of museums and galleries on the one day, Sunday, when they could be seen by the largest number of people. Turner House thus became known as ‘The Sunday Gallery’. In 1921 the gallery and its contents were handed over to the National Museum of Wales which used the space to house temporary exhibitions until 2005 when Ffotogallery took over responsibility for programming.