Who found the town of Stithian in Wales?

Answer 1

There is no town in Wales called Stithian- you must be referring to St.Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The area was originally settled by the Romans, and Roman coins have been discovered buried in fields nearby, although the indigenous Welsh village is said to have grown up around a monastery and school that were established there by the Irish monk Tathan, who was blown off-course whilst sailing to Wales in 540 A.D. and who ended up running aground at Portskewett in Monmouthshire. Others claim that it is named after Tathana, the grand-daughter of Welsh nobelman Meuric ap Tewdric, who lived a humble life as a nun in a mud hut on the banks of the River Thaw near to the villages mill-house. She helped establish the monastic school at nearby Llantwit Major and is buried in the church there.

The 18th Century Welsh bard and poer Iolo Morgannwg claimed that the name is a corruption of Saint Tathan, who was the daughter of the King of Gwent during the first Millenium.

The name St. Athan is relatively recent, as in the early 16th Century it was known as LLANDathan, with the Norman-era church dedicated to Tathana.

Nowadays it is the site of a large RAF base, and also has a prominent soccer team who sometimes rank high in the Welsh football league. It also has a large Golf club.