Mamhilad ( cy, Mamheilad) is a village in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Goetre Fawr Goetre Fawr is a community and electoral ward in Monmouthshire, Wales, a few miles south of the town of Abergavenny. According to the 2011 UK Census the population of the community and ward was 2,393. Community The community includes the village ...

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 Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Location

Mamhilad is two miles to the north east of

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

, Torfaen County Borough.

History and amenities

Mamhilad has a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called the Star Inn. The

Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National parks of England and Wales, Na ...

passes the village. There is another pub at Croes-y-Pant called, the Horseshoe. The Church of St Illtyd is notable for having been the parish of the Reverend Christopher Cook (1825–1927), who held the living between 1855 and 1925. He was also

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Llanfihangel

Pontymoile Pontymoile (Welsh: ''Pont-y-moel'') is a suburb of Pontypool in Torfaen, South Wales. It is all but merged with the nearby suburbs of Cwmynyscoy and Upper Race. It is a community of Torfaen, and includes the electoral wards of Brynwern, Cw ...

from 1851, a record 74 years, and served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

there even before he was made

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

. At the time of his death he was described in the local press as ''the world's oldest clergyman'', although this has not been authenticated. He may have been the longest serving parish priest in Wales, and whilst he retired in 1916 he continued to serve for another nine years until declared incapacitated by the Provincial Court of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

. Mamhilad is close to business parks straddling the A4042 on the former ICI Fibres and

British Nylon Spinners British Nylon Spinners (BNS) was a British company set up in 1940 by ICI and Courtaulds to produce nylon yarn. In 1964 it was taken over by ICI after ICI had tried and failed to take over Courtaulds. Beginning In 1939, ICI took out a licenc ...

site.

References

External links

Photo of the Star InnThe ancient Yew trees of Mamhilad
Villages in Monmouthshire {{Monmouthshire-geo-stub