Llanarth is a privately owned estate village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

within a conservation area in the Welsh county of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. Llanarth is roughly east of

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

and west of Raglan.

History

One of the earliest mentions of the village is in the ''

Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff (; , ', or '), is the cartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written primarily in Latin but also contains a signific ...

'', written in 1125 CE, where it is rendered with the spelling "Llangarth". The village's name translates as either "church on the ridge of the hill” or possibly “church with a garth (yard)”. Both attest to the presence of a chapel with resident priest (Llan). Settlement within the area potentially dates back to the 6th century CE. ''The Book of Llandaff'' states that the king of Gwent - Iddon son of , gave his mansion of "Llangarth" to

Teilo Saint Teilo ( or '; Wainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; or '; – 9 February ), also known as Eliud, was a British Christian monk, bisho ...

, who was the Bishop of Llandaff between 512 and 566. In 880 a Bishop by the name of Nudd was resident within Llanarth. The Church of St Teilo in the village stands on the foundation of an older, previous church. In 1891 this church was restored, and for over a century catered to

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

worshippers. Just over a century later, in 2013, the church was declared redundant, owing to the unsustainable cost of necessary repairs. The Llanarth estate and its forestry are notable for their numerous

coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

and

giant redwood ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...

conifer specimens, which were likely planted in the 19th century following sapling transportation from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Facilities

Llanarth is surrounded by farmland and forestry which is managed by the Trustees of Llanarth Estate. Within the estate's forestry and land holdings are designated riding

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

s and routes that any

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

rider may use for a nominal fee. Within the village there is a village hall and sports club with a well-equipped

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and football pitch, a sports pavilion and a children's play area. Llanarth has a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, the Church of St Mary and St Michael located within the grounds of

Llanarth Court Llanarth Court is a late-18th-century country house with substantial 19th-century alterations in Llanarth, Monmouthshire, Llanarth, Monmouthshire, Wales. The court was built for the Jones family of Treowen and was subsequently the home of Ivor Her ...

. Primary education is available in Raglan, about three miles away, and secondary education is available in

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

() is also in the vicinity of Llanarth village. Once a private country house of a branch of the Herbert family and home to

Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen Major-General Ivor John Caradoc Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen, CB, CMG, KStJ (15 July 1851 – 18 October 1933), known as Sir Ivor Herbert, Bt, between 1907 and 1917, was a British Liberal politician and British Army officer in the Grenadier Gua ...

, then a fee-paying private boys' school, it is now a private hospital.

Notable people

* Sarah Bill, the mother of Australian prime minister

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

, born on a farm in the parish of Llanarth

References

{{Authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Communities in Monmouthshire