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Welcome to
Llanvair Discoed
click on the picture above to take a walk......
The local Women's Institute
(Netherwent & Llanvaches) is looking to attract new members.
For their 2012 programme please click here.
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Don't forget Burns' Night Supper on 28 January at the
Woodlands! Tickets available from the church fundraising
committee.
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Llanvair Discoed (Welsh: Llanfair Is Coed) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east
Wales, between Chepstow and Newport. The village is mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Lamecare'. The name means Mary's (Mair > Fair)
church (llan) under (is) the wood (coed). The 'd' at the start of Discoed only
appears in more recent versions of the name. The correct Welsh
language name is Llanfair Is Coed or
Llanfair-iscoed. The wood refers to
Wentwood, which at the time of the Kingdom of Gwent separated the cantref of Gwent Is Coed ("this side of the
wood", as envisaged from Caerwent), from that of Gwent Uwch Coed
("beyond the wood").
The
village contains a small ruined castle, believed to have been built by the FitzPayn
family, as lords of Llanvair Discoed, in the 13th century. The ruins
of the castle are now situated within the boundaries of a private
property. The last resident of the castle was a member of the Kemeys family who died
defending Chepstow Castle. The Kemeys family owned and managed a lot of
the land around the area, explaining why so many places have 'Kemeys' in
the name. If you would like to know more about Llanvair
Castle and other Welsh castles click here.
Llanvair Discoed is a popular village and most residents
have lived here for many years. The centre of village
life is
St Mary's
Church and
The Woodlands
Tavern.
Immediately to the north of the village is Gray
Hill
with its standing stones
and medieval village. From the 900ft (273m) summit there are
wonderful views of the Severn Estuary, Wentwood Reservoir and
the surrounding countryside.
Thank you
to Gwyn Lewis, a former resident of the village for much of the
information listed on the History
page. |