Llansantffraed is the smallest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 ...

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

, located four miles to the west of Raglan, north of the A40 between Raglan and

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 ...

. There is no community, only the Llansantffraed Court estate and the church.

History

Llansantffraed is the smallest parish in

, covering only 290 acres. It is notable for its church, St Bride's (or St Bridget's), which is a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed building, and Llansantffraed Court, the house which forms part of the Llansantffraed Estate. The house was registered as a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building in 2005. The court was designed by Fairfax Blomfield Wade-Palmer and C. Frankis in 1912 for a member of the Herbert family, major landowners in the county.

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

suggests Edwin Lutyens'

Monkton House Monkton House in Broughton Gifford, Wiltshire, England is a Grade II* listed 16th-century house. History In the 12th century Cluniac monks of the Order of Saint Benedict founded a monastery at Monkton Farleigh, acquiring land in the neighbou ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

as their inspiration. The

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

describes the architecture of the court as "a Home Counties style unusual to Wales". Joseph Bradney, writing in his multi-volume ''

A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'', noted the house as presenting "no particular signs of antiquity, but distinguished by its fine situation". Bradney also recorded the owner at the time of writing (1906) as being Major Edward Herbert, chief constable of Monmouthshire, and that previous residents had included two

Bishops of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

William Van Mildert William Van Mildert (6 November 1765 – 21 February 1836) was the bishop of Durham (1826–1836), and the last to rule the county palatine of Durham. He was also one of the founders of the University of Durham, where he is commemorated ...

and

Edward Copleston Edward Copleston (2 February 177614 October 1849) was an English churchman and academic, Provost of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1814 till 1828 and Bishop of Llandaff from 1827. Life Born into an ancient West Country family, Copleston was born ...

. The grounds have an ornamental lake and fountain. Llansantffraed Court operated as a hotel from mid 20th century until November 2019 when it was converted back to a private residence.

The Church of St Bride's

The Church of St Bride's (or St Bridget's) is situated in the grounds of Llansantffraed Court. Restored in 1858, it consists of a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, south porch and a western turret containing 2 bells. There are memorials in the chancel to the ancestors of the Jones and Herbert families: there are 55 sittings. In the churchyard is an ancient stone cross. The register dates from the year 1753.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Grade II listed buildings in Monmouthshire