Cwmyoy
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|---|---|
 Cwmyoy, on the slope ofHatterrall Hill | |
  Cwmyoy Location withinMonmouthshire | |
| OS grid reference | SO299232 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ABERGAVENNY |
| Postcode district | NP7 |
| Dialling code | 01600 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
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Cwmyoy is an extensiveruralparish inMonmouthshire,Wales (Welsh:Cwm Iou, for the valley and parish;Welsh:Cwm-iou, for the village). The standard Welsh name isCwm Iau orCwm-iau. In the Gwentian dialect of Welsh that was spoken here until the late 1800s, the name was pronounced asCwm Iou ('ou', also spelt informally 'oi', for standard 'au' is a common feature of south Wales Welsh). The 'English' name is in fact this local dialect form in a more English spelling. The name of the valley probably originates from the Welsh wordiau meaningyoke, in reference to the shape of the hill surrounding it.[1]
The village of Cwmyoy is 7 miles (11 km) north ofAbergavenny and 4 miles (6.4 km) south ofLlanthony in theVale of Ewyas in theBlack Mountains. It is within theBrecon Beacons National Park, in an upland location just below the broad ridge ofHatterrall Hill, which carries theWales–England border andOffa's Dyke Path.
The parish is nearly 8 miles (13 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) broad, and includesLlanthony as well as Cwmyoy itself. In 1893, an area in the neighbouring valley of theGrwyne Fawr, known in Welsh as Ffwddog and in English as the Fothock, which had been anexclave ofHerefordshire, was transferred into the parish.[2]
The Cwmyoy area is popular forhillwalking andpony trekking.Llanthony Priory,Capel-y-ffin andGospel Pass are all accessed by passing below Cwmyoy village.
Cwmyoy also has a smallvillage hall which is run as aregistered charity.[3]
Cwmyoy is best known forSt Martin's Church, a stoneparish church standing on a steep hillside on the east side of the valley and which has been subject toslippage. It has been called the "most crooked church in Great Britain."[4][5] Local historianFred Hando (1958) calls it "the Church below the Landslide" and describes thechancel as "a remarkable example of a weeping chancel... the nave represents our Lord's body, and the deflected chancel His head fallen sideways in death." He notes that the whole chancel, not just its axis, is out of line, suggesting it was intentionally built this way and is not the result of the slippage.[6]
