Llanvihangel Crucorney

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Llanvihangel Crucorney
Welsh: Llanfihangel Crucornau
Monmouthshire

Church of St. Michael and All Angels
Location
Grid reference: SO326206
Location: 51°52’45"N, 2°58’55"W
Data
Population: 800
Post town: Abergavenny
Postcode: NP7
Dialling code: 01600
Local Government
Council: Monmouthshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Monmouth

Llanvihangel Crucorney is a small village and ancient parish in Monmouthshire, five miles north of Abergavenny and 18 miles south-west of Hereford. The Penbidwal part of the parish forms part of the Skenfrith Hundred while the rest falls under that of Abergavenny.

History, amenities and architecture

The village

The Skirrid Mountain Inn is reputedly one of the oldest public houses in Wales, and dates from at least 1110.[1] The village also has a church, St Michael and All Angels, a primary school, and a mixture of housing types ranging from Llanvihangel Court, a Tudor-period country mansion to recently built executive-style homes. A nearby hotel, the Allt Yr Ynys Country Hotel, is centred on a 16th-century manor once owned by William Cecil, Lord Burghley, chief minister to Queen Elizabeth I for much of her reign.

In addition to Llanvihangel Court, the village is the site of two other Grade I listed buildings; Court Farm Barn[2] and Llwyn-celyn farmhouse.[3] The barn at Court Farm is of the eighteenth century[4] whilst Llwyn-celyn farm originated as a mediæval stone hall house, and has some "quite exceptional"[5] early interior features including original arch braced trusses.[6]

Pen-y-Clawdd Court

Pen-y-Clawdd Court, one mile to the southwest of the village, is a Tudor manor house thought to date from circa 1625.[7] The remains of an adjoining Norman motte and bailey castle are still discernible. Its history is not well documented, but it is thought to date from the late 11th century when Roger de Hastings was building castles in the area.[8] Pen-y-Clawdd Court is built in an L-shaped plan[9] on the site of a mediæval manor.[7] There have been various later alterations and additions and the house has been carefully restored. It is a maze of rooms set at different levels with low ceilings and a wealth of architectural detail. In the early 20th century it was said to have been a "roomy mansion with the remains of walls enclosing gardens but the whole had become sadly neglected."[10] It is a Grade I listed building as of 5 June 1952.[11]

Setting

The village is set in a rural landscape at the extreme eastern end of Brecon Beacons National Park and to the immediate east of the Black Mountains. The Skirrid lies just to the south whilst Llanthony Priory lies in the Vale of Ewyas just to the northwest. The area is farmed with a mix of sheep and dairy cattle grazing and pasture and arable crops.

Notes

Outside links