Shirenewton
Encyclopedia
Shirenewton is a village
Village
A 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 Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire 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 Wales
Wales
Wales 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...

, UK. It is located 3 miles due west of Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow 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...

, 5 miles (8km) by road. The village stands around 500 feet (154 m) above sea level, and has extensive views of the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The 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:...

 and Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...

.

History

Before the Norman invasion of Wales
Norman invasion of Wales
The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright...

, the Shirenewton area formed part of the forest of Wentwood
Wentwood
Wentwood is a forested area of hills, rising to 309 metres , in Monmouthshire, South Wales. It is located to the north east of, and partly within the boundaries of, the city of Newport.- Geology :...

 . At the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

, it was part of the lands at Caldicot
Caldicot, Monmouthshire
Caldicot is a small town in Monmouthshire, southeast Wales, located between Chepstow and Newport, just off the busy M4 / M48 motorway corridor. The site adjoins the Caldicot Levels, on the north side of the Severn estuary. Caldicot has easy access by motorway and rail to Cardiff, and across the...

 which were held by Durand, the Sheriff of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

. Durand and his successor as sheriff, his nephew Walter FitzRoger
Walter de Gloucester
Walter de Gloucester was an early Norman official of the King of England during the early years of the Norman conquest of the South Welsh Marches.-Titles:...

 also known as Walter de Gloucester, had part of the forest cleared around the year 1100, and established a small settlement which was known as "Sheriff's Newton (or New Town)" or, in Latin, Nova Villa. The manor then became known as Caldecot-cum-Newton, and in some documents the village was called Newton Netherwent. "Netherwent" is the English name given to the Welsh cantref of Gwent-is-coed (Gwent beneath the wood, i.e. Wentwood), with "-went" deriving from the Roman
Roman Empire
The 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....

 town of Venta
Venta Silurum
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....

which became Caerwent. The name "Sheriff's Newton" became contracted over the years into Shirenewton.

After Walter retired to become a monk at Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep sided once glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay...

, he was followed as Sheriff by his son, Milo Fitzwalter
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was the son of Walter de Gloucester, who served as hereditary sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121....

 (Miles de Gloucester), who became Earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...

 and Lord High Constable of England
Lord High Constable of England
The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. His office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was originally the commander of the royal armies and the...

 in 1141. The area north west of the village became known as the Earl's Wood about that time, hence modern Earlswood
Earlswood, Monmouthshire
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.-History:...

.

Church of St. Thomas à Becket

In the late 12th century the land was inherited by Henry de Bohun
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.He was Earl of Hereford and Hereditary Constable of England from 1199 to 1220.- Lineage :...

. The church was built by his son Humphrey
Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun was 2nd Earl of Hereford and 1st Earl of Essex, as well as Constable of England. He was the son of Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford and Maud of Essex.- Career :...

 after he inherited the title in 1220, and was dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

 who had been assassinated in 1170 and canonised three years later. The chronicler Adam of Usk
Adam of Usk
Adam of Usk was a Welsh priest, canonist, and late medieval historian and chronicler.- Patronage :Born at Usk in what is now Monmouthshire, southeast Wales, Adam received the patronage of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, who inherited the Lordship of Usk through his wife Philippa...

, who held the post in 1399, was one of the earliest known rectors of the church. Much of the current church, including the fortified tower, choir, chancel and nave, originally dates from the 13th century, although it was partly rebuilt and completely restored in 1853.

The village today

There has recently been some controversy over the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh 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...

 name
Welsh placenames
The 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...

 for the village. This has been confirmed by the Place Names Standardisation Committee of the Welsh Language Board
Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board is a statutory body set up by the UK Government as part of the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is now an Assembly Sponsored Public Body...

 to be Drenewydd Gelli-farch, which is normally translated to "new settlement at the stallion's grove", although one of the roads leading in to Shirenewton still has the Welsh name as 'Trenewydd Gelli Farch'. According to the 1901 Kelly's Directory
Kelly's Directory
Kelly's Directory was a trade directory in the United Kingdom that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities. In effect, it was a Victorian version of today's...

, the Welsh name "appears to have been but seldom used".

Mynydd-bach is a community separated by the width of a single field from Shirenewton. The name means, in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh 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...

, "little hill".

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 estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...

s, but most have come up short due to the village boundaries, and the desire of the locals to keep the village as it is.

Shirenewton, although relatively small, has four pubs: The Tan House, The Carpenters Arms, The Tredegar Arms and The Huntsman Hotel. Until recently it sported a small village shop (SPAR
SPAR
Spar , trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European...

) which closed in January 2007 and is currently for sale. This took the place of the original 5 Bells shop which shut in the early 1990s, and Ostlers Garage and Shop which closed in the late 1990s. Shirenewton also sported a small village Post Office
Post office
A 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...

 that unfortunately shut down several years ago.

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 eight classes, four infant classes, and four junior.

Shirenewton's large golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

 closed in May 2005 and the site has since been developed for luxury housing, althougn 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
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, now left in unrecognisable ruins.

"The Grondra", also located in the village, is considered to be one of the finest 18th century country houses in Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

. The owner was recently fined £40,000, however, after major structural changes were carried out without local authority consent. It is estimated that remedial work, to return the Grade II listed building to its former condition, will cost more than £450,000.

The village of Shirenewton proves itself as an ideal place to live, as it has easy links to the M48 motorway
M48 motorway
The M48 is a motorway in Great Britain joining Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire over the original Severn Bridge. The M48 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the west of the M5 motorway and its number should really therefore begin with 5.-Route:...

 at Chepstow, making access to Newport
Newport
Newport 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 Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff 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...

quick and easy.



External links

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