Beachley

Beachley
Beachley
	Old ferry terminal and inn at Beachley, seen from the Severn Bridge
	Beachley Location within Gloucestershire
Population	764
OS grid reference	ST551910
Civil parish	Tidenham ;
District	Forest of Dean ;
Shire county	Gloucestershire ;
Region	South West ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHEPSTOW
Postcode district	NP16
Dialling code	01291
Police	Gloucestershire
Fire	Gloucestershire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Forest of Dean ;
	List of places UK England Gloucestershire 51°36′58″N2°38′54″W / 51.61603°N 2.64844°W

Last updated April 02, 2024

Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge over the River Wye begins, both bridges carrying the M48 motorway between England and Wales though the motorway is not directly accessible from the village. The tidal range on this stretch of water is the highest in the UK. Before the construction of the bridge it was a ferry port from where the Aust Ferry operated until 1966. The population in 2011 was 764.^[1]

History

Before the 9th century, the Beachley peninsula and the mouth of the Wye were part of the Welsh kingdom of Gwent. A small chapel was founded at what was then the southernmost point of the peninsula - now a tidal island known as Chapel Rock - traditionally in the 4th century by Tecla, a princess of Gwynedd who retired there as a hermit before being murdered by raiders from the sea. A chapel dedicated to St Twrog, perhaps containing a navigation light, was later built on the rock but was ruined before the 18th century.^[2]

Offa's Dyke, built by the Mercians in the 8th century, cuts off the peninsula to the north. In 956, Beachley was part of lands granted by King Edwy to Bath Abbey. According to historians interpreting the writings of Walter Map, it is likely that Beachley was the site of an unprecedented meeting around 1056 between the unchallenged ruler of Wales, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, and the king of England, Edward the Confessor, to establish each one's areas of control.^[3]

The crossing of the Severn estuary between Beachley and Aust was probably in use from antiquity and was long the chief route between southern England and southern Wales. It was recorded in the 12th century when the de Clares, lords of Tidenham, granted quittance of the passage to the monks of Tintern, and was evidently much used in 1405 when great numbers of the English and Welsh were said to resort to the nearby chapel of St Twrog. The manor of Tidenham retained rights over the passage, and received rents from the parishes of Aust and Beachley, until the 19th century.^[4]

Beachley was the site of fighting in the Civil War. It was garrisoned by Royalists under Sir John Wintour, but was overrun in October 1644 by Parliamentary forces under Col. Edward Massey.^[5]

St John's Church was built in 1833 by Bristol architects Foster and Okely. Its cost was borne largely by James Jenkins, the owner of Beachley Manor.^[6] In the 1850s the rector was Rev. G.W. Bridges, an early photographer.

Army Apprentices College

In 1915, during World War I, the government requisitioned a large area of land at Beachley and constructed National Shipyard No.2.^[7] However, the war ended before production had begun. Instead, in 1924 it was decided to establish a British Army Apprentices School ^[8] (which in 1966 was renamed as an Army Apprentices College) at Beachley to ensure a core of qualified soldiers with excellent technical education combined with first class military training as potential NCOs and officers mainly for the specialist corps Royal Engineers, REME Plant Operator mechanics and RAOC.

The AAC closed in 1994,^[9] and the army converted the site to an infantry barracks. After the recent reorganisation of the Army, "Future Army Structures" and "Future Infantry Structures" this is now the permanent home of the First Battalion The Rifles.^[10]

Amenities

The old ferry slipway is now used by the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA), whose Beachley lifeboat station is next to the slipway. SARA has been established for over 40 years and is considered to be the second largest UK lifeboat association (the largest being the RNLI). SARA currently operates six lifeboat rescue stations on the Severn between Newport and Kidderminster and is staffed entirely by volunteers. In addition to lifeboat duties, SARA also has cliff rescue, flood and land search capabilities. SARA is a member of Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW).

The Aust Severn Powerline Crossing runs over the river at Beachley to Aust. A tunnel also runs under the River Severn between Beachley and Aust carrying electric cables.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Severn</span> River in the United Kingdom

The River Severn, at 220 miles (354 km) long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of 107 m³/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m), on the Plynlimon massif, which lies close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes. The river then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester lie on its course.

Severn crossing is a term used to refer to the two motorway crossings over the River Severn estuary between England and Wales operated by England's National Highways. The two crossings are:

Chepstow is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about 2 miles (3 km) above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the Severn Bridge. It is the easternmost settlement in Wales, situated 16 miles (26 km) east of Newport, 28 miles (45 km) east-northeast of Cardiff, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Bristol and 110 miles (180 km) west of London.

Monmouthshire is a county in the south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the south, and Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west. The largest town is Abergavenny, and the administrative centre is Usk.

The M48 is a 13-mile (21 km) long motorway in Great Britain, which crosses the Severn near Chepstow, Monmouthshire, linking England with Wales via the Severn Bridge. This road used to be the M4, and as a result is anomalously numbered: as it lies to the north of the M4 and to the west of the M5, it is in the Motorway Zone 5. The M4, M48 and the A48(M) motorway are the only motorways in Wales.

Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Bristol and about 28 miles (45 km) south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 motorway. The village has a chapel, a church and a public house. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is sometimes flooded due to the high tidal range of the Severn. Aust Cliff, above the Severn, is located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the village. The civil parish of Aust includes the villages of Elberton and Littleton-upon-Severn.

Tidenham is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border. Tidenham is bounded by the River Wye to the west and the River Severn to the south. Offa's Dyke runs through the western part of the parish, terminating at Sedbury cliff above the River Severn.

The Severn Bridge is a motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and Wales, and took three and a half years to build, at a cost of £8 million. It replaced the 137-year-old Aust Ferry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedbury</span> Human settlement in England

Sedbury is a village in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, facing the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire. The village is in the parish of Tidenham. It had a population of 3,535. Nearby are the villages of Tutshill, Woodcroft and Beachley.

Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley, both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales. The nearest fixed crossing was a 60-mile (97 km) round trip to Gloucester.

Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) or Severn Rescue is an independent, marine and land based, search and rescue organisation covering the Severn Estuary and upper reaches of the River Severn. SARA is the largest independent lifeboat service in the UK, second only to the RNLI, with 22 operational inshore lifeboats, 20 vehicles and approximately 200 personnel. They receive no funding from the RNLI.

Striguil or Strigoil is the name that was used from the 11th century until the late 14th century for the port and Norman castle of Chepstow, on the Welsh side of the River Wye which forms the boundary with England. The name was also applied to the Marcher lordship which controlled the area in the period between the Norman conquest and the formation of Monmouthshire under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542.

The A466, also known as the Wye Valley Road, is a road from Hereford, England to Chepstow, Wales via Monmouth, Tintern and the Wye Valley.

The Wye Valley Railway was a standard gauge railway that ran for nearly 15 miles (24 km) along the Lower Wye Valley between the towns of Chepstow and Monmouth, crossing several times between Wales and England. Opened on 1 November 1876, it was leased to, and worked by, the Great Western Railway (GWR), before being fully absorbed by the GWR in 1905.

The England–Wales border, sometimes referred to as the Wales–England border or the Anglo-Welsh border, runs for 160 miles (260 km) from the Dee estuary, in the north, to the Severn estuary in the south, separating England and Wales.

Beachley Barracks is a British Army base at Beachley in Gloucestershire, England, close to the England–Wales border at Chepstow. The barracks is the home of 1st Battalion, The Rifles and is located at Beachley Point between the River Severn and the River Wye. It is set to close in 2029.

Lancaut is a deserted village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tidenham, in the Forest of Dean district, in Gloucestershire, England, located alongside the River Wye, around two miles north of Chepstow. It occupies a narrow-necked promontory formed by a curve of the river, which acts as the border between England and Wales. Little remains of the village today, except for the roofless church of St. James.

The National Shipyards, in the United Kingdom, were an initiative to expand merchant ship production during the First World War, proposed and partially completed by the coalition government led by David Lloyd George.

New Passage Pier was the original terminus of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, located on the south bank of the River Severn at New Passage, South Gloucestershire, England. At New Passage, passengers would disembark from trains and use a boat across the Severn.

Portskewett Pier was a station on the Bristol & South Wales Union Railway. The pier at Black Rock, near Portskewett, was the Welsh side of the New Passage Ferry across the River Severn. The ferry linked rail services between Bristol and South Wales, avoiding the previous long detour through Gloucester. The ferry service lasted for nearly twenty five years, from 1863 to 1886, until the opening of the railway tunnel beneath the river.

References

↑ "Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics".
↑ Mysteries of Wales (sic)
↑ Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Ray Howell (eds.), Gwent In Prehistory and Early History: The Gwent County History Vol.1, 2004, ISBN 0-7083-1826-6
↑ Ancient ferries
↑ "1644". Forest of Dean Local History. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
↑ Churches of Britain
↑ Allen, J. R. L. (2000). "National Shipyard No. 2, Beachley, Gloucestershire: some ceramic evidence from the First World War". Post-Medieval Archaeology. 34: 203–206. doi:10.1179/pma.2000.006. S2CID 161333749.
↑ "Brief History". Army Apprentices College. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
↑ "Unit History: Army Apprentices School Chepstow". Forces War Records. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
↑ "1st Battalion The Rifles". Army. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

Sources

Captain John Barnes RAEC and Major David Thomas RAEC (edd), The Story of the Army Apprentices College, Chepstow 1923-1983
David Verey, Gloucestershire: The Vale and Forest of Dean, The Buildings of England, edited by Nikolaus Pevsner, 2nd ed (1976) ISBN 0-14-071041-8

External links

Beachley Army Apprentices College (Army Apprentices College, Chepstow) website

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[1] "Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics".

[2] Mysteries of Wales (sic)

[gch-3] Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Ray Howell (eds.), Gwent In Prehistory and Early History: The Gwent County History Vol.1, 2004, ISBN 0-7083-1826-6

[britishhistory-4] Ancient ferries

[5] "1644". Forest of Dean Local History. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

[6] Churches of Britain

[7] Allen, J. R. L. (2000). "National Shipyard No. 2, Beachley, Gloucestershire: some ceramic evidence from the First World War". Post-Medieval Archaeology. 34: 203–206. doi:10.1179/pma.2000.006. S2CID 161333749.

[8] "Brief History". Army Apprentices College. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

[9] "Unit History: Army Apprentices School Chepstow". Forces War Records. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

[10] "1st Battalion The Rifles". Army. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

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