Editing Trellech (section)

==Places of historical interest==
===Church of St Nicholas===
{{main|Church of St Nicholas, Trellech}}
[[File:Trellech church - geograph.org.uk - 261726.jpg|thumb|right|St Nicholas' Church]]

The [[Anglican]] [[parish church]] has been designated a [[Grade I listed building]] since 19 November 1953,<ref>{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=2106|desc=Church of St Nicholas, Trellech|grade=I|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref> and is described by [[Joseph Bradney]] as "one of the largest and most handsome of the country churches in the county" of Monmouthshire.<ref name="bradney">{{cite book|last=Bradney|first=Sir Joseph|title=A History of Monmouthshire: The Hundred of Trelech|publisher=Mitchell Hughes and Clarke|year=1933|pages=129–154|isbn=1-873361-16-5}}</ref>  With an elegant pointed and prominent [[steeple]], a [[baptismal font|font]] and 17th-century [[sundial]], it is a focal point of the village.  The main part of the church building is of local [[Old Red Sandstone]], with a three-stage tower.  The spire can be seen for several miles around and is described by architectural writer John Newman as "the town's pride and joy".<ref>{{cite book|last=Newman|first=John|title=The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire|pages=566–9, 574–5, 576–579 }}</ref>

A church on this site, probably a wooden structure, was endowed by Ffernfael ap Ithel and [[Meurig ap Tewdrig]] who were rulers of [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] in the 7th and 8th centuries.  The Preaching Cross in the churchyard is early Medieval in date, as is the font.<ref>{{Coflein|num=220997|desc=St Nicholas’ Church, Trellech|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref> The present building dates from the 13th or early 14th century. The early English [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] stonework has been dated to between 1225 and 1272, and that of the [[Decorated Gothic]] up to 1350.  The church has a large [[clerestory|clerestoried]] [[nave]], with a much smaller [[chancel]].  The "impressive" interior has a "spendidly high" tower arch, and the five-bay nave has arcades on octagonal piers.<ref name="newman"/>  The [[altar rails]] and [[pulpit]], dated 1640, are survivals of 17th century church interior design.  At the west end of the church, directly below the window, is a [[Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom|Royal Coat of Arms]] for [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] dated 1683.<ref name="newman"/>  Records are held by the church dating from 1692.  Complete lists of vicars, from 1359, and [[churchwarden]]s, from 1763, can be found in the entrance to the south aisle.  The rear of the main church door is inscribed "IHS 1595".

When the [[weathercock]] was removed from the spire in 1972 it was found to have been made in [[Ross-on-Wye]] in 1792. The original [[spire]] fell, damaging the roof of the nave, and a contemporary reference attributes this to "lightning and storms".  In the [[Bell tower|belfry]] the cage housing the three bells is of a type similar to that found in others constructed about the year 1700.  At the end of the last century the church was in a neglected state and was extensively renovated and re-roofed.  The Belgian slates then in place were replaced with [[Slate industry in Wales|Welsh slates]] in 1961.  The chancel was replastered in 1972 and painted white.  During 1974 considerable repairs were undertaken to the north and south aisles, and in 2001 the majority of the churchyard [[dry-stone wall]] was removed and rebuilt.

====Sundial====
The church contains a stone sundial, dated 1689, which was originally set up by Lady Probert of [[the Argoed, Penallt]]. Three of the four faces of the sundial show the village's historic features: Tump Terret, with the inscriptions MAGNA MOLE ("Great in its Mound") and O QUOT HIC SEPULTI ("Oh! How many are buried here"); Harold's Stones with the inscriptions MAIOR SAXIS ("Greater in its Stones") and HIC FUIT VICTOR HARALDUS ("Here Harold was victorious"); and the Virtuous Well, with the inscriptions MAXIMA FONTE ("Greatest in its Well") and DOM. MAGD. PROBERT OSTENDIT ("Lady Magdalen Probert gives proof of it").  The sundial stood in a garden, on top of the inverted ancient font, until both were moved inside the church in the early 20th century.<ref name="bradney"/> A carved wooden replica of the sundial was placed in a field south of the village in recent years.<ref name="newman"/>

===Harold's Stones===
[[File:Harold's Stones.jpg|alt=|thumb|Harold's Stones, looking north east]]
Three large monoliths of [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]] stone, commonly referred to as ''[[Puddingstone (rock)|puddingstone]]'', are located in a field on the eastern side of the  B4293 to the south of the village. (SO 498051)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/262365 |title=Photo of "Harold's Stones" |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |accessdate=2012-09-06}}</ref> The stones, situated on publicly accessible land belonging to the Davies family of Crosshands Farm, are a [[scheduled ancient monument]].<ref>{{Coflein|num=221159|desc=Harold’s Stones, Trellech|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref> The stones have been described as "one of the more substantial megalithic monuments in Monmouthshire".<ref name=children/>

The stones are on slightly elevated ground close to running water and springs, which might be relevant to the choice of site.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burgess|first=Colin|title=The Age of Stonehenge|year=1980|publisher=J M Dent|page=350|isbn=0-460-04254-8}}</ref> They are believed to date back to the [[Bronze Age]].  Such remains are rare in this part of Wales.  Various local traditions are ascribed to them: that they were erected by [[Harold Godwinson]] to celebrate a victory over the Welsh in 1063; that they commemorate three chieftains who fell fighting against the Romans; or that they were flung from the [[Skirrid]] by the mythical [[Jack o' Kent]] in a trial of strength with [[the Devil]].<ref name=stonepages/><ref>[[Fred Hando|Hando, F.]], (1944), ''The Pleasant Land of Gwent'', Newport: R. H. Johns</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/churches/trelech1.htm|title=John's Homepage|work=jlb2011.co.uk|accessdate=7 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207122715/http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/churches/trelech1.htm|archive-date=7 February 2015}}</ref>

The stones form an approximate line running between north-east and south-west at an [[azimuth]] of about 229°, which probably indicates the midwinter sunset,<ref>{{cite book|last=Burl|first=Aubrey|title=From Carnac to Callanish|year=1993|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/159 159–60]|isbn=0-300-05575-7|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/159}}</ref> though the midsummer sunrise cannot be excluded on account of the lack of precise alignment of the stones.<ref name=powell>{{cite web|first=Martin J. |last=Powell |url=http://www.aenigmatis.com/archaeoastronomy/stone-rows.htm|title=Archaeoastronomy in South Wales: Stone Rows & Stone Pairs|publisher=Aenigmatis.com|accessdate=2016-10-04}}</ref> They have been described as "the most visually impressive of the alignments in South Wales."<ref name=powell/> Their location, without good views beyond the immediate surroundings, suggests that its alignment may be significant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/cadw_reports/pdfs/GGAT%2072%20Overviews.pdf |publisher=Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust |title=The Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Monument Survey of Glamorgan and Gwent |page=53}}</ref>  The stones are respectively {{convert|2.7|m}}, {{convert|3.7|m}}, and {{convert|4.6|m}} high, the tallest being at the south-west; the overall length of the row is {{convert|11|m}}.<ref name=stonepages>{{cite web|url=http://www.stonepages.com/wales/haroldstones.html |title=Stones of Wales - Harold's Stones standing stones |publisher=Stonepages.com |accessdate=18 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name=burl1>{{cite book|last=Burl|first=Aubrey|title=From Carnac to Callanish|year=1993|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/4 4–5]|isbn=0-300-05575-7|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/4}}</ref>  The central stone has what are thought to be [[cup marks]].<ref name="newman">{{cite book|last=Newman|first=John|title=The Buildings of Wales: Gwent|page=578 }}</ref>  It is supposed that the stones were dragged to the site on logs and levered into position, probably either for seasonal information or for use at religious ceremonies. Houlder (1978) speculates that they were once part of a much larger and impressive alignment,<ref>{{cite book |author=C. H. Houlder |title=Wales: An Archaeological Guide |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |location=London |year=1978 |isbn=978-0571082216}}</ref> but Castleden (1992) suggests that they did not form part of a stone circle<ref name=children/><ref>{{cite book |author=R. Castleden |title=Neolithic Britain: New Stone Age Sites of England, Scotland and Wales |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |year=1992 |isbn=978-0415058452}}</ref>

[[Aubrey Burl]] asserts that short stone-rows of this kind were used as the ritual centres of families of "perhaps ten or twenty adults and children", though the erection of large stones required the co-operation of several such families. He compared the Trellech stones to the row at Le Vieux-Moulin, [[Plouharnel]], near [[Carnac]], and says that "Similar short rows were erected by communities in Ireland, Britain and Brittany in the centuries of the Bronze age between 1800 and 1000 BC".<ref name=burl1/> The source of the Trellech stones may have been the nearby [[Beacon Hill, Monmouthshire|Beacon Hill]] where there are outcrops of a similar conglomerate.  A fourth stone, on nearby common land, is believed to have been destroyed in the 18th century.<ref name=children>{{cite book |last1=Children |first1=George |last2=Nash |first2=George |title=A Guide To Prehistoric Sites In Monmouthshire |publisher=Logaston Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-873827-49-0 |pages=41–44}}</ref>

=== Tump Terret and Court Farm ===
[[File:Trellech - Tump Terret Castle Mound - geograph.org.uk - 473817.jpg|thumb|Tump Terret]]

Tump Terret is situated within the grounds of Court Farm to the southwest of the church.  It dates back to [[House of Normandy|Norman]] times, as the site of a small [[motte and bailey]] castle; traces of its surrounding ditch remain.<ref name="newman"/>  It was known to be in existence before 1231<ref name=castle>{{Cite web|url=http://www.castlewales.com/trellech.html|title=Tump Terrett Castle|website=www.castlewales.com}}</ref> and the castle was still extant in 1263, when it was mentioned in manorial documents. A local myth, commemorated on the sundial, was that it was a burial mound for those killed in actions between the forces of Harold Godwinson and the opposing Welsh.  A now-vanished [[summer house]] was built by the Rumsey family on top of the mound.<ref name=bradney/>

Trellech Court -- now the site of the farmhouse -- was the seat of a branch of the [[Seymour baronets|Seymour]] family until it passed to [[John Rumsey]] in the early 18th century.  The existing building is, according to Bradney, "a building of no architectural features", and dates from around the time of Rumsey's ownership.  It was converted into a farmhouse in the later 19th century.<ref name=bradney/>

===The Virtuous Well===
[[File:Trellech's holy well - geograph.org.uk - 477787.jpg|thumb|The Virtuous Well]]

Sometimes known as [[St Anne]]'s Well, this circular [[Spring (hydrology)|wellspring]], surrounded by a stone wall and seating, is located in a field on the left of the road to [[Tintern]], about {{convert|400|yd}} east of the village.  Local tradition is that it is the only one remaining of originally nine [[holy well]]s in Trellech.  In the 17th century, it was reportedly much frequented, and reputed to cure "the [[scurvy]], [[colic]] and other [[Humorism|distemper]]s".<ref name="newman"/>  Water from the well is rich in [[chalybeate]].<ref name=bradney/>

It is a [[clootie well]], where token offerings are placed around and within the well, and strips of cloth and ribbons are hung from neighbouring trees.  It is also used as a [[wishing well]].  Traditionally, "to make a wish one threw into the water a small metal object.  Many bubbles arising from it meant a rapid granting of one's wish, few bubbles meant that a long period of time would elapse before the wish came true and no bubbles at all meant that one's wish had not been granted.  The young maidens of Trellech anxious to know how long they had to wait until their wedding day, would drop a pebble into the water and every bubble that arose counted for one month."<ref>[http://people.bath.ac.uk/liskmj/living-spring/journal/issue1/dipping/spoutre2.htm#virtuous  Stephanie Poultner, "Wells and Springs around Trellech", ''Living Spring Journal'', 2000]. Retrieved 13 February 2015</ref>