Shirenewton
Shirenewton
| |
---|---|
Church of St. Thomas a Becket at Shirenewton | |
Location within Monmouthshire | |
Population | 1,145 (2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | ST478936 |
Community |
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Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CHEPSTOW |
Postcode district | NP16 |
Dialling code | 01291 |
Police | Gwent |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Shirenewton (Welsh: Drenewydd Gelli-farch) 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 (154 m) 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.[2]
Etymology
The 1901 Kelly's Directory, described the "Old Welsh name for the Parish" as "Tre-newydd-gelli-fach", and today the town's standardised Welsh Placename is Drenewydd Gelli-farch ("new town at the grove of the horse/stallion/steed"). The difference in the two names is purely grammatical, and is a common feature of Welsh morphology[disambiguation needed]. As such, the name "Trenewydd Gelli Farch" appears on roadsigns leading into Shirenewton.[3]
The name of Mynydd-bach, the contiguous village north-east of Shirenewton, means "Little Mountain" in Welsh.
History
Before the
After Walter retired to become a monk at
The Mounton Brook runs through the parish, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries provided the water power to operate five paper mills in the Mynydd-bach area - White Mill, Itton Mill, Dyer's Mill, Itton Court Mill, and Pandy Mill. These made brown and blue packing paper, using rags, straw and old rope as raw materials. There were three more mills just downstream at Mounton.[5]
Shirenewton Hall
The
In 1988 the house was the setting for the film The Woman He Loved, the story of Edward VIII's abdication. Just behind the hall there was formerly an ancient mansion, belonging to the Blethyn family, and said to have been once occupied by Bishop Blethyn, who died there in 1590.[7]
Parish church
The Church of St. Thomas à Becket was built by Humphrey de Bohun. Much of the current church, such as the fortified tower, choir, chancel and nave, date from the 13th century, although it was rebuilt and restored in 1853.[4][8]
A monument to
The former rectory Cae-Pw-Cella on Red House Lane is a Grade II listed Tudor Revival Villa dating from 1840.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward also includes Mathern. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 2,201.[11]
The village today
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
The 1892 Chepstow Directory has an entry for Shirenewton, showing that it had a population of around 650 people at that time. The current population is unknown, but the number of houses in the village has increased markedly in recent years. Many attempts have been made to extend the village, to add small housing estates, but most have been denied planning permission due to the village boundaries, and the desire of the locals to keep the village as it is.
Shirenewton, although relatively small, has three
The village also has a modern primary school called Shirenewton Primary that was built in 1985. This lies between Shirenewton and Mynydd-bach, and is situated in large open playing fields. The school hosts seven classes, three infant classes, and four junior.
Shirenewton's large golf course closed in May 2005 and the site has since been developed for luxury housing, although part of the golf course has been kept as a conservation area. The golf course encompassed the site of the abandoned manor of Dinham, which also included a small castle, now left in unrecognisable ruins.
"The Grondra", also located in the village, is considered to be one of the finest 18th century
The village of Shirenewton has easy links to the M48 motorway at Chepstow, making access to Bristol, Newport and Cardiff quick and easy.
References
- ^ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ "Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics".
- ^ Kelly's 1901 Directory of Monmouthshire on Shirenewton
- ^ a b c History of Shirenewton Church
- ^ Ivor Waters, Mounton Valley Paper Mills, Chepstow Society, 1978
- ^ "£5m hall could be going for a singer" at walesonline.co.uk
- ^ "SHIRENEWTON" at ancestry.com
- ISBN 0-14-071053-1
- ^ Liddell family history. Accessed 13 July 2012
- ^ Liddell family history: Victoria Cross. Accessed 13 July 2012
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ "Geograph:: The Old Post Office, Shirenewton © Jaggery cc-by-sa/2.0".
- ^ Footballers' Wives house fine – South Wales Argus Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Shirenewton's Official Website
- Shirenewton's Community Council Website
- Shirenewton School's Website
- Shirenewton Church (St. Thomas à Becket) on the Caerwent Parish Group website
- Shirenewton & Mynyddbach Fields Association website
- Shirenewton Local History Society website
- St. Thomas A Becket church
- Geograph photographs
- Kelly's 1901 Directory of Monmouthshire on Shirenewton