History

Danescourt is, of course, the old parish of Radyr and the ancient route from the old Church at Whitchurch to St John's at Radyr was referred to in the Life of St Cadoc, written in the 11th century.

Whilst travelling from Llancarfan to Newport, Cadoc was entertained at a villa named Aradur Hen, before crossing the ford across the River Taff.

A hermit, Tylyway, lived on the western bank of the river and he is said to have struck his staff into the ground, creating a spring of healing water. Recent analysis has shown that a spring still exists in woodland some 600 metres north of the Church.

The trackway became a pilgrim route and although the present Church was not built until the 13th century, it is possible that it is on the site of the hermit's cell. The most favoured explanation for the name Aradur is its derivation from the Latin 'oratorium',
or house of prayer.

In 1254 St John's Church was valued for tax at �4, it was probably built by the DeClare family. Some stone near the windows and terminal heads of the window circles can be dated to this period. The arch in the chancel is typical 13th century style.

The hamlet was to the north of the Church, on what is now Danescourt Way. The manor house was sited in the gardens of 5-19 Heol Aradur. A large stone building, with walls more than a metre thick, it was possibly two storeys high.

A survey in 1307 showed that the Lord's manor was 68 acres of arable land. A further 52 acres were held by tenant farmers. There were also peasants who erected hovels on the Lord's waste land.