Llanvaches
| |
|---|---|
 Church of SaintDubricius | |
  Llanvaches Location withinNewport | |
| Population | 365 (2001 census[1]) |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWPORT |
| Postcode district | NP26 |
| Dialling code | 01633 Llanwern and Penhow exchanges |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
51°37′18″N2°49′07″W / 51.6218°N 2.8186°W /51.6218; -2.8186  Map of the community | |
Llanvaches (Welsh:Llanfaches) is a village andcommunity within the boundaries of the city ofNewport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in thehistoric county ofMonmouthshire and thepreserved county ofGwent.The population rose to 402 by the 2011 census.[2]
Llanvaches is located roughly midway between themarket town ofChepstow and thecentre ofNewport. The village lies just north of theA48 road and belowWentwood, with both Newport centre and Chepstow about 7 miles (11 km) distant.
The village is named after Saint Maches (Latin:Machuta), a daughter of SaintGwynllyw or Woolos and sister of SaintCadoc, who according to tradition lived a humble life as a shepherdess in the 5th century but was killed by robbers stealing her finest ram.Saint Tathan, Abbot of nearbyCaerwent, to whom the murderers confessed their crime, built a church on the spot where she was killed,[3] which became known as Merthyr Maches and later Llanfaches (the lettermmutating to-f- inWelsh).
The parish church largely dates from the 14th century and is dedicated to SaintDubricius (WelshDyfrig), with Bishops Transcripts dating back to 1725.[4] The church is Grade IIlisted building.[5] The minister is Revd D. C. Frett.[6]
The firstIndependent Church in Wales was founded at Llanvaches in 1638 byWilliam Wroth (1576–1642), Rector from 1617. In 1633,King Charles I, advised by theArchbishop of Canterbury,William Laud, reissued the "Declaration of Sports". This listed the sports that were permitted on Sundays and otherholy days, and was published to counteract the growingPuritan calls for strict abstinence on theSabbath day. Wroth defied Charles' instruction to read the Declaration to his congregation, and in 1634 theBishop of Llandaff reported him to theCourt of High Commission, seeking to remove him from his position in the Church. In 1638 Wroth, along with fellow dissenterWalter Craddock, resigned, but continued to preach and gather followers. His preaching became so popular that people travelled fromSomerset,Gloucester,Hereford,Radnor andGlamorgan to Llanvaches to hear him, and it became necessary for him to preach in the churchyard because the church was too small to accommodate all those who attended. By 1639, although he had not formally left the Church of England, Wroth is likely to have been ejected from his living. He set up hisCongregationalist chapel, "according to the New England pattern", completed in 1639, with the help of the leadingDissenter,Henry Jessey. The historic meeting at Llanvaches in November 1639 marked the real beginning ofNon-conformity in Wales.[7] Wroth died shortly before the outbreak of the firstEnglish Civil War, and was buried beneath the church porch at Llanvaches.[8] His will, at one time on display in the church vestry, concluded:
The original church was built in the neighbouring hamlet of Carrow Hill and rebuilt in Llanvaches in 1802.[9] In 1854George Borrow passed the chapel on his walk from Newport toChepstow, a journey later included in his 1862Wild Wales.[10] The current TabernacleURC Chapel was remodelled in 1924.[11]
In 2006 ahoard of 599 silverdenarii, hidden in a locally made cooking pot, was found at Llanvaches by ametal detectorist.[12] The coins, which are dated to about AD 160, are now held at theNational Roman Legion Museum inCaerleon.[13]
Llanvaches is set in a quiet rural area. Access is via single track lanes with passing places. There are approximately 80 houses in the village which features a church, a church hall, a post box, a play park and a playing field. A bus stop is a ten minute walk from the village as are the Rock and Fountain pub and a scout den.
The area isgoverned by theNewport City Council and the Llanvachescommunity council.