Vale of Ewyas
The Vale of Ewyas (Welsh: Dyffryn Ewias) is the steep-sided and secluded valley of the River Honddu, in the Black Mountains of Monmouthshire and Brecknockshire. It is within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The valley is believed to have glacial origins.
As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, and for several noteworthy churches such as those at Capel-y-ffin and Cwmyoy. It is sometimes referred to as the "Llanthony Valley" as Llanthony is the village standing at the valley centre.
The Vale of Ewyas is accessed by a single track road between Llanfihangel Crucorney, near Abergavenny, and Hay-on-Wye. The upper part of the valley, the northern part above Capel-y-Ffin, is within Brecknockshire, and the southern part within Monmouthshire.
The highest points of both Monmouthshire (Chwarel y Fan) and Herefordshire (Black Mountain) are found close to the village at the peak of the mountains to west and east respectively.
Historical interest
The Vale is named after the cantref of Ewias, which may have originally been a small Welsh kingdom following the Roman withdrawal from Britain and which, after the Norman conquest of England and invasion of Wales, became an autonomous marcher lordship. In 1536, the Laws in Wales Act brought the Vale and most of the rest of "Wentset" into the newly constituted county of Monmouthshire, while parts of Ewyas to the east became incorporated into Herefordshire.
Llanthony Priory was founded in about 1100 by Walter de Lacy, a Norman nobleman, who according to tradition found a ruined chapel of St David here and founded the priory as an isolated place of prayer and contemplation. Isolated it has remained between the enclosing slopes of the mountains to each side.
Sights of the Vale
At the head of the Vale is the spectacular Gospel Pass.
The village of Llanthony and the enchanting ruins of Llanthony Priory stand at the heart of the Vale.
Nearby, at Capel-y-ffin, is an 18th-century church or chapel, one of the smallest in the country, and close to the former home of designer Eric Gill. Further south near the valley entrance, at Cwmyoy, the church there has suffered gradual subsidence over the centuries, and is best known for the disorienting tilts and twists of the building which add to its character. A few miles away, further into the Black Mountains, is Partrishow or Patricio, which has an outstanding 11th-century church.
Literature
Bruce Chatwin's book 'On the Black Hill' depicts the upland livestock farming community over the past 100 years or so in the area. A locally born writer and academic Raymond Williams may well have set to restore the balance with his two books on the People of the Black Mountains, written a few years afterwards.