Mathern ( cy, Matharn; older form: ''Merthyr Tewdrig'') is a historic community (parish) and village in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

and the M48 motorway. The village is designated as a

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. It is now bisected by the motorway, which passes over the road through the village, with the original village located to the south and the more recent development, known as Newton Green, to the north. Almost adjoining Mathen, and within the community, is Pwllmeyric.

Origins of the village

An authoritative local historyE. T. Davies, ''A history of the Parish of Mathern'', 1990
/ref> suggests that the settlement originates from a time when the St. Pierre Pill, an inlet off the Severn Estuary, was larger and much more important than now, and met an ancient ridgeway which passed through Shirenewton towards

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

. The inlet was originally known as ''Porthiscoed'' ("harbour below the woods"), which, as

Portskewett Portskewett ( cy, Porthsgiwed or ''Porthysgewin'') is a village and community (parish) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located four miles south west of Chepstow and one mile east of Caldicot, in an archaeologically sensitive part of the ...

, later became the name of a nearby village. Mathern was originally known as ''Merthyr-Tewdrig'' ("burial-place of Tewdrig"), after the martyrdom of St. Tewdrig, king of Gwent and Glywysing. According to the Book of Llandaff, Tewdrig (or Tewdric) was wounded at Tintern around the year 630, after fighting the invading Saxons with his son Meurig ap Tewdrig. His wounds were washed at a spring, where he died. A church was erected on the site of his burial at Mathern, and he was later revered as a martyr and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

.Kelly's Directory for Monmouthshire, 1901
/ref> In his memory, Meurig gave the surrounding land, extending for several miles, to the Bishops of Llandaff. During the 12th century, the shorter name ''Mateyrn'', meaning "place of a king", came into common use for the village; Meurig's name is perpetuated in the neighbouring village of Pwllmeyric.

Notable buildings

St Tewdric's Church

The existing parish church of

St. Tewdric Tewdrig ap Teithfallt (; la, Theodoricus), known simply as Tewdrig, was a king of the post-Roman Kingdom of Glywysing. He abdicated in favour of his son Meurig (Maurice) and retired to live a hermitical life, but was recalled to lead his son' ...

dates largely from the late 15th century, when it was rebuilt on an earlier foundation by John Marshall, Bishop of Llandaff, in the Perpendicular architectural style. However, parts dating from the 12th and 13th centuries are still visible. The church is the supposed resting place of St. Tewdric; on the north wall of the chancel is a tablet installed in the 17th century by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Llandaff 1601–1617, who claimed to have found the saint's stone coffin while repairing the church. The church also possesses several monuments to Bishops of Llandaff, up to the end of the 17th century. The building was heavily restored in the 1880s. Hando recounts the story told to him by an old lady who had lived in Mathern and who claimed to have seen for herself, in 1881, the stone coffin bearing the remains of St. Tewdrig with his mortal wound (a hole in the skull made by a spear-point) still visible. The medieval

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

was recovered from beneath the porch by Canon E. T. Davies in 1943. Close to the church is the ancient St. Tewdric's Well, mentioned by the historian

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...

in the 8th or 9th century. The church is a Grade I listed building as of 19 August 1955.

Mathern Palace

The Mathern estate was traditionally given to the Bishops of Llandaff by King Meurig. It is known that, by 1333, Mathern was one of three medieval

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

s belonging to Llandaff (the others being at Bishton and at Llandaff itself); and, after

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

's rebellion in the early 15th century, it was the only one kept habitable. Part of the existing building is dated to 1419. In his 1882 publication, local historian Octavius Morgan provides a description of three carved stones, showing symbols of the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, which once formed part of a grand gateway to the palace, but by then deposited by

Lord Tredegar Baron Tredegar, of Tredegar in the County of Monmouth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 April 1859 for the Welsh politician Sir Charles Morgan, 3rd Baronet, who had earlier represented Brecon in Parliament ...

at the museum at Caerleon, dating from the time of Bishop

John de la Zouch John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

who held the See between 1408 and 1423. Most of the remaining buildings, however, date from the 16th century. The property fell out of use around 1700, became a farm, and was partly demolished around 1770. In 1894 the buildings were sold to architect and garden designer Henry Avray Tipping (1855–1933), who restored some of the buildings and developed a new garden in the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

style. The remains of the palace are a Grade I listed building as of 10 June 1953. As of 2013, the Palace is for sale with an estimated value of £2.75M.

Moynes Court

Moynes Court is a Grade II* listed building. An earlier building was rebuilt as a private residence by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Llandaff, in about 1609/10, and much of the building remains from that period. Its grounds contain earthworks thought to be the foundations of an earlier

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed manor house.

Wyelands

Wyelands is a large neoclassical villa, about north of the village. It was designed by Robert Lugar and was completed around 1830. It is also a Grade II* listed building. The Vaughan-Hughes family, who occupied the house between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, built cottages and

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s in Mathern for their employees, some dated to 1891.

Sport and leisure

Mathern FC currently has three

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

sides playing in Gwent County League Division 2 and East Gwent Senior League Division 1 and Division 2. In 2005/06 the club - then known as Mathern Wanderers - won the Harry Fishwick Cup defeating

Monmouth Town F.C. Monmouth Town Football Club is a Welsh football club based in the historic town of Monmouth. The club plays in the Ardal Leagues South East, tier 3 of the Welsh football pyramid. History Association football was first played in Monmouth as ear ...

At the start of the 2012/13 season Mathern Wanderers FC and members of Tintern Abbey FC amalgamated to become Mathern FC. This was a successful season for the new club, with the 1st team winning the East Gwent Division 1 title and the 2nd team winning the Fishwick Cup. Following ground improvements made during the close season, Mathern were promoted to the Gwent County League's Division Three. Mathern's first team won a further promotion - to Division 2 of the Gwent County League after finishing runners-up to Sebastopol FC at the end of the 2013/14 season. In the 2015/16 season, the club made the final of three cup competitions, winning two and losing one. The Wales Coast Path passes through the village.