Magor - meaning 'a wall' - is a large
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, south east
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, between
ChepstowChepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
and the city of
NewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, and adjoining the
Caldicot LevelsThe Caldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarine alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn estuary, either side of the River Usk estuary near Newport in south east Wales...
beside the
Severn estuaryThe Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
. Magor lies close to the
M4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
[Photo of M4 at Magor], which has a nearby motorway service area sharing its name. It is within the commuter belts of Newport,
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
History
The original
Welsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
nameThe placenames of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English...
Magwyr, from which the English name is derived, is thought to originate from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
maceria, meaning masonry walls or ruins. It may relate either to a now-lost
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
villaA villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
in the area, or alternatively to sea defences or a
causewayIn modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
built by the Romans. Magor and the surrounding area contain many
RomanRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
ruins and artefacts, and the village centre was originally located at the inner edge of
salt marshA salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es which the Romans began to reclaim as farmland. The local name "Whitewall" may relate to the same causeway, which would have connected the village to a small now-vanished harbour on the
Severn estuaryThe Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
known as Abergwaitha or Aberweytha.
[Name "Magor" at Gwent County History Association]
In 1994 the remains of a 13th century boat, used for trading along and across the Severn estuary, and perhaps with
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, were found buried in the mud of the estuary close to Magor Pill. The boat was found to have been carrying
iron ore from
GlamorganGlamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
.
[Magor boat at S4C] The church
According to tradition, the
Church in WalesThe Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
parish churchA parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
was founded in the 7th century, and was originally dedicated to St. Leonard. The existing building has been described as
"one of the most ambitious churches in Monmouthshire". The earliest parts of the building date from the 13th century, at about the same time as it was handed by
Gilbert Marshal, Earl of PembrokeGilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke was the third son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, the daughter of Richard de Clare....
to the abbey of
AnagniAnagni is an ancient town and comune in Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical center in Ciociaria.-Geography:...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was later administered by
Tintern AbbeyTintern Abbey was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131. It is situated in the village of Tintern, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, which forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was only the second Cistercian...
.
Remains of the Procurator's House, some parts of which may date from the 14th century and others from the 16th century, are still standing just off the village square. The Procurator was responsible for collecting the tithes of the village on behalf of the abbey. The church was greatly extended in the 15th century, and was restored and re-dedicated to St. Mary in the mid-19th century.
Amenities
Although it could be described as a dormitory town it has a thriving village centre containing shops, pubs, restaurants and a
Post OfficeA post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. Magor and the neighbouring village of
UndyUndy is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, adjoining the village of Magor with which it forms the community and parish of "Magor with Undy"...
support a thriving athletic club whose clubhouse and pitches are found at the eastern end of the villages.
Undy actually consists of all land lying to the north of Magor reen, taking in Dancing Hill where the reen intersects Cowleaze (Magor) to the south and Millfield Park and Mill Reen (Undy) to the north. Vinegar Hill, often regarded as a boundary point between Magor and Undy, actually lies wholly within Undy.
In 2007 a relief road was proposed for Newport which would have been built to the west of the village utilising the existing motorway junction.
[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/downloads/gbttwa.pdf] The plans were dropped in 2009.
[BBC News: "M4 and airport road plans dropped", 15 July 2009]
As well as the large parish church the village also has an historic
BaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church.
[Ebenezer Baptist Church]
Magor Marsh is a 90 acres (36.4 ha) wetland reserve managed by the
Gwent Wildlife TrustGwent Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the area between the lower Wye and Rhymney rivers which forms the vice county of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. It is a registered charity and a member of the Wildlife Trusts Partnership.-History:...
. It has a rich variety of habitats, including damp hay meadows, sedge fen, reedbed, scrub, wet woodland, a large pond and numerous reens. It includes breeding grounds for
Common SnipeThe Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
,
Common RedshankThe Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
,
Reed WarblerThe Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
,
Grasshopper WarblerThe Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
and
Cetti's WarblerCetti's Warbler , Cettia cetti, is an Old World warbler which breeds in Europe, northwest Africa and east southern temperate Asia as far as Afghanistan and NW Pakistan. It is the only bush warbler to occur outside Asia...
. It is the richest site in Wales for wetland
beetleColeoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and
soldier-fliesThe soldier flies , are a family of flies . The family contains about 1,500 species in about 400 genera worldwide. Adults are found near larval habitats...
, and its pattern of drainage ditches and other features has remained unchanged since the 14th century.
[Severnside Forum: Magor Marshes - a summary of ecological information][ BBC: Magor Marsh]
External links