Garway

Garway is a parish in south-western Herefordshire, adjacent to the border with Monmouthshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 430.^[1] It is set on a hillside above the River Monnow about six miles north-west of Monmouth. It is a sparsely populated area, mainly agricultural in nature. There are several small centres of population: Garway, Broad Oak, The Turning and Garway Hill. It is known as Llanwrfwy in the Welsh language.

Garway church

The church is on the western edge of the parish and is dedicated to Saint Michael.

The earliest record of a monastery on the site is in the seventh century, but it is with the arrival of the Knights Templar in 1180 that the history of the church at Garway becomes clearer. The Knights Templar built a hut in honour of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The excavated foundations of part of the round church (unearthed in 1927) can be seen clearly on the north side of the present church, and the original carved chancel arch, heavily decorated and in the Norman style, survives. Most of the current church, which is no longer round, is probably 13th century including the massive defensible tower which was once separate from the main church building. There are numerous carvings both inside and outside the building including a green man, a sword believed to be Templar, a fish and a snake.

Garway church is an important part of the community and in addition to regular services it is used for many other events.

The dovecote, on private land near Garway Church, has an inscription dating it to 1326 and has been described as probably the finest dovecote in England.^[2] It was featured in the fictional BBC action/drama series Bonekickers on 8 July 2008.

Garway is featured in "The Fabric of Sin", a novel written by Phil Rickman, and in Bernard Knight's chapter in King Arthur's Bones by The Medieval Murderers.