St Arvans

St Arvans
Welsh: *Llanarfan*
St Arvans Welsh: Llanarfan;
	St Arvans parish church
	St Arvans Location within Monmouthshire
Population	765 (2011)
OS grid reference	ST516965
Principal area	Monmouthshire;
Preserved county	Gwent;
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHEPSTOW
Postcode district	NP16
Dialling code	01291
Police	Gwent
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
Monmouth
	List of places UK Wales Monmouthshire 51°39′58″N 2°42′00″W / 51.666°N 2.700°W ; Map of the community

St Arvans (

AONB. It is connected by a segregated bicycle path

to the edge of Chepstow. The name "Sain Arfan" was incorrectly placed on signage provided by Monmouthshire county council, sometime between 2005 and 2010, as a Welsh language version of St Arvans. This translation was never approved by the St Arvans community council or the Welsh speakers within the village itself. It took over 10 years before the signage was corrected to match the fountain stone tablet, and the historically used "Llanarfan" (Welsh translation for the Parish of St Arvans) in 2022.

History and amenities

The village church is dedicated to Saint Arvan. According to tradition he was a 9th-century hermit who supported himself by fishing for salmon in the River Wye, and drowned when his coracle capsized.

The circular nature of the churchyard suggests that the church may be a Celtic foundation. There are remains of a Celtic cross of the period, and also part of an apparently Saxon doorway, but essentially the original church was late Norman in date. By 1254 it belonged to the small priory of St Kingsmark or Cynmarch. It was enlarged between 1813 and 1823, and extensive restoration work was carried out in the 1880s and again in the 1980s. The octagonal tower was the gift of the local property-owner Nathaniel Wells.^[2]

The village has a large

Conservation Area.^[3]

The

cavers

and potholers.

To the north of the village is

Arts and Crafts style. The ruined Piercefield House is also listed at Grade II*.^[4]

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north from St Arvans to Tintern. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,618.^[5]

References

^ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ St Arvans Church. Church History Archived 17 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ Adopted Unitary Development Plan Archived 12 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Listed Buildings in St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.

External links

[1] "Community population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.

[2] St Arvans Church. Church History Archived 17 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[3] Adopted Unitary Development Plan Archived 12 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Listed Buildings in St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

[5] "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 4 April 2015.

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