Llanvair Discoed
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|---|---|
 St. Mary's Church, Llanfair Discoed | |
  Llanvair Discoed Location within Monmouthshire | |
| OS grid reference | ST447923 |
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHEPSTOW |
| Postcode district | NP16 |
| Dialling code | 01633 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
Llanvair Discoed (Welsh : Llanfair Is Coed) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, 6 miles west of Chepstow and 10 miles east of Newport.
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Lamecare'. The name means Mary's (Mair > Fair) church (llan) under (is) the wood (coed). The 'd' at the start of Discoed only appears in more recent versions of the name. The correct Welsh language name is Llanfair Is Coed or Llanfair-iscoed. The wood refers to Wentwood, which at the time of the Kingdom of Gwent separated the cantref of Gwent Is Coed ("this side of the wood", as envisaged from Caerwent), from that of Gwent Uwch Coed ("beyond the wood"). [1]
The village contains a small ruined castle, believed to have been built by the FitzPayn family, as lords of Llanvair Discoed, in the 13th century. [2]
There is an Iron Age hill fort at Llanmelin, about one mile east of the village overlooking the Castrogi Brook and with distant views of the Severn estuary. The fort covers an area of 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres), with a small outpost enclosure to the north-east. It is believed to have been first built around the 4th century BC, and rebuilt and extended in the 1st century BC. Earthworks adjoining the fort to the south-east have been interpreted as funerary enclosures, suggesting to some that the fort was used as an oppidum or small town by the Silures. Finds of later Romano-British pottery have also been made at Llanmelin. [1]
The site is one of a number which have been suggested as the true site of King Arthur's court at Celliwig or Camelot, following the Roman withdrawal from the nearby town of Venta Silurum or Caerwent. [3] However, others have suggested that Llanmelin is not an especially impressive hillfort, and archaeological evidence so far is that it was primarily a defended enclosure for livestock with a few associated roundhouses. [4]
To the north lies Penhein, a "large, two storeyed villa of a standard Regency type." [5] The house was designed for Samuel Brookes and took John Nash's villa at Cronkhill, Shropshire, as its inspiration. [6] The villa is a Grade II listed building, [7] and the gardens and park were listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. [8]
The village is nestled at the bottom of Gray Hill, an important archaeological site with earthworks and standing stones dating from the Neolithic period up to the Bronze Age.
It is on the road between Caerwent and Usk via Wentwood. It currently has 67 houses, one pub (The Woodlands Tavern), and one parish church, namely St. Mary's Church in Wales church. [9]
Caerwent is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of Venta Silurum, an important settlement of the Brythonic Silures tribe. The modern village is built around the Roman ruins, which are some of the best-preserved in Europe. It remained prominent through the Roman era and Early Middle Ages as the site of a road crossing between several important civic centres. The community includes Llanvair Discoed. The village itself had a population of about 1,200.
Caldicot was an ancient hundred of Monmouthshire, Wales.
St. Brides Netherwent is a parish and largely deserted village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is centred 2 miles north of Magor, and 3 miles west of Caerwent. The A48 Newport to Chepstow road passes close by to the north.
Shirenewton is a village and community in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 3 miles due west of Chepstow, 5 miles (8 km) by road. The village stands around 500 feet above sea level, and has extensive views of the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The population of the village and the conjoined village of Mynydd-bach was 657 in 2011.
Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Much of it has been archaeologically excavated and is on display to the public.
Llantilio Crossenny is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Abergavenny and Monmouth on the B4233 road. The community included Penrhos, and Llanvihangel-Ystern-Llewern.
Earlswood is a rural area of scattered settlement in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located five miles northwest of Chepstow, within the parish of Shirenewton and immediately east of the forested area of Wentwood.
Llangwm is a small rural village and former community, now in the community of Llantrisant Fawr, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Usk, on the B4235 Chepstow to Usk road. The main village is at Llangwm Uchaf, with a smaller and more dispersed settlement about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north-east at Llangwm Isaf .The other settlement in the community is Llansoy. In 2022 the community was abolished and merged with Llantrisant Fawr.
Llanfair Kilgeddin is a small village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, lying within the administrative community of Llanover. It is located four miles north west of Usk and six miles south east of Abergavenny on the B4598 road. The River Usk passes close by.
Dixton is a small village located 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of Monmouth, on the banks of the River Wye, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. The parish originally comprised the two manors of Dixton Newton and Dixton Hadnock, on either side of the river.
Newchurch is an extensive rural parish and small hamlet in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 6 miles south east of Usk and 6 miles north west of Chepstow, between the B4235 and B4293 roads.
Gray Hill is a hill immediately to the north of the village of Llanvair Discoed, Monmouthshire, South Wales, rising to 896 feet (273 m) above sea level.
Penterry is a small rural parish of 479 acres (1.94 km2) in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located between the villages of St. Arvans and Tintern, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Chepstow, within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the border with England. It now contains an isolated parish church adjoining the site of a deserted village, and a few farms.
St Mary the Virgin is the former parish church for Llanfair Kilgeddin, near Usk in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is a Grade I listed building, notable for its significant Arts and Crafts interior. The church was declared redundant in the 1980s and is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
The Church of St Martin, Pen-y-clawdd, Monmouthshire, Wales is a parish church with Norman origins which was rebuilt in the 15th century. It is located on the site of an early Welsh defensive earthwork. The church was restored in 1884–85. It remains an active church in the parish of Llangovan with Pen-y-clawdd. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Pant-y-Goitre Bridge crosses the River Usk between Abergavenny and Usk near the village of Llanfair Kilgeddin. The bridge carries the B4598. It was constructed in 1821 by the engineer John Upton.
Tal-y-coed Court,, Llanvihangel-Ystern-Llewern, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a Victorian country house. Constructed in 1881–1883, it was built for the Monmouthshire antiquarian Joseph Bradney, author of A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time. A Grade II* listed building, the house is a "fine historicist essay in the Queen Anne Style, one of the earliest examples in Wales." Its gardens and park are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The Church of St Stephen and St Tathan, Caerwent, Monmouthshire, is a parish church with datable origins to the 13th century. It is believed to be one of the oldest Christian sites in the county, and possibly within Wales. The church is sited within the walls of the Roman town. It remains an active parish church and a Grade II* listed building.
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