| Beachley | |
|---|---|
 Old ferry terminal and inn at Beachley, seen from the Severn Bridge | |
  Beachley Location withinGloucestershire | |
| Population | 764 |
| OS grid reference | ST551910 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHEPSTOW |
| Postcode district | NP16 |
| Dialling code | 01291 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
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Beachley is a village inGloucestershire, England, near the border withMonmouthshire, Wales. It is located on apeninsula at theconfluence of the riversWye andSevern, where theSevern Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge over theRiver Wye begins, both bridges carrying theM48 motorway between England and Wales though the motorway is not directly accessible from the village. Thetidal range on this stretch of water is the highest in the UK. Before the construction of the bridge it was aferry port from where theAust Ferry operated until 1966. The population in 2011 was 764.[1]
Before the 9th century, the Beachley peninsula and the mouth of the Wye were part of theWelshkingdom of Gwent. A small chapel was founded at what was then the southernmost point of the peninsula - now a tidal island known as Chapel Rock - traditionally in the 4th century by Tecla, a princess ofGwynedd who retired there as a hermit before being murdered by raiders from the sea. A chapel dedicated toSt Twrog, perhaps containing a navigation light, was later built on the rock but was ruined before the 18th century.[2]
Offa's Dyke, built by theMercians in the 8th century, cuts off the peninsula to the north. In 956, Beachley was part of lands granted by KingEdwy toBath Abbey. According to historians interpreting the writings ofWalter Map, it is likely that Beachley was the site of an unprecedented meeting around 1056 between the unchallenged ruler of Wales,Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, and the king ofEngland,Edward the Confessor, to establish each one's areas of control.[3]
The crossing of theSevern estuary between Beachley andAust was probably in use from antiquity and was long the chief route between southern England and southern Wales. It was recorded in the 12th century when thede Clares, lords ofTidenham, grantedquittance of the passage to the monks ofTintern, and was evidently much used in 1405 when great numbers of the English and Welsh were said to resort to the nearby chapel of St Twrog. The manor of Tidenham retained rights over the passage, and received rents from the parishes of Aust and Beachley, until the 19th century.[4]
Beachley was the site of fighting in theCivil War. It was garrisoned byRoyalists underSir John Wintour, but was overrun in October 1644 byParliamentary forces underCol. Edward Massey.[5]
St John's Church was built in 1833 byBristol architectsFoster and Okely. Its cost was borne largely by James Jenkins, the owner of Beachley Manor.[6] In the 1850s the rector wasRev. G.W. Bridges, an early photographer.
In 1915, duringWorld War I, the government requisitioned a large area of land at Beachley and constructedNational Shipyard No.2.[7] However, the war ended before production had begun. Instead, in 1924 it was decided to establish a BritishArmy Apprentices School[8] (which in 1966 was renamed as anArmy Apprentices College) at Beachley to ensure a core of qualified soldiers with excellent technical education combined with first class military training as potentialNCOs and officers mainly for the specialist corpsRoyal Engineers,REME Plant Operator mechanics andRAOC.
The AAC closed in 1994,[9] and the army converted the site to an infantry barracks. After the recent reorganisation of the Army, "Future Army Structures" and "Future Infantry Structures" this is now the permanent home of the First BattalionThe Rifles.[10]
The old ferry slipway is now used by theSevern Area Rescue Association (SARA), whose Beachleylifeboat station is next to the slipway. SARA has been established for over 40 years and is considered to be the second largestUK lifeboat association (the largest being theRNLI). SARA currently operates six lifeboat rescue stations on theSevern betweenNewport andKidderminster and is staffed entirely by volunteers. In addition to lifeboat duties, SARA also has cliff rescue, flood and land search capabilities. SARA is a member ofMountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW).
TheAust Severn Powerline Crossing runs over the river at Beachley to Aust. A tunnel also runs under theRiver Severn between Beachley andAust carrying electric cables.
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