Pandy is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 ...

, south east

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 ...

, United Kingdom.

Location

Pandy is north 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 ...

on the

A465 road The A465 is a Trunk roads in Wales, trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in south Wales. The western half in Wales is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section fro ...

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

immediately north of

Llanfihangel Crucorney Llanvihangel Crucorney () is a small village in the community (parish) of Crucorney, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located north of Abergavenny and southwest of Hereford, England on the A465 road. Setting Llanvihangel Crucorney lies on the e ...

. The Wales–England border is one mile to the north, and the

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws hillwalking, walkers from th ...

and

Marches Way The Marches Way is a partially waymarked long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom. It runs for through the Welsh–English borderlands, traditionally known as the Welsh Marches, and links the cities of Chester in the north and Cardiff in ...

pass through the village.

History

The village of Pandy ranges from the Pandy

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

at Allt-yr-Ynys in the north to the edge of Lanfihangel Crucorney to the south. The fulling-mill at Pandy served the

Llanover Llanover (; ; ) is a village in the community of Goetre Fawr in Monmouthshire, Wales. Name The name of the village derives from an earlier Welsh form ''Llanfyfor'', made up of ''llan'' 'enclosure, church' and the personal name ''Myfor''. Lo ...

estate in the 17th century producing

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

, which was turned into Welsh flannel. Pandy is the Welsh word for a fulling-mill. The village was on a route used by the early railways; the Abergavenny to Hereford line still passes to the west. There was at one time the Grosmont tramroad as well, now demolished.

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

was born in a cottage next to

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

where his father was a

railway signalman A signalman or signaller is an employee of a railway transport network who operates the points and signals from a signal box in order to control the movement of trains. History The first signalmen, originally called Railway Policemen (leadin ...

on the Hereford to Abergavenny railway line. The village was redeveloped in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

by a pioneering lady

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, Bernadette Rocher, who, in the 1870s, extended and reworked many of the older properties in local red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. She is buried at the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

at Oldcastle, Monmouthshire, a short distance to the northwest.

Amenities

The village has no

, but has two Nonconformist

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s, one Baptist and one

Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

. The village has several campsites and small caravan parks and two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s. The housing is a mix of

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

cottages, farms and villas and some 1970s housing estates such as Wern Gifford. The Black Mountains rise up to the west of the village, with the outlying

Skirrid Skirrid Fawr ( , ), often referred to as just the Skirrid, is a traditional Christian pilgrimage site and an easterly outlier of the Black Mountains in Wales. It forms the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The smaller hill ...

looming high over the village to the east. Pandy has two hotels, the Park Hotel and Allt Yr Ynys Country Hotel.

Transport

Pandy railway station closed in 1958, with trains running through between

and

on the Welsh Marches Line.

Notable people

The singer-songwriter

MARINA A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

lived in Pandy for most of her childhood, although she was born in

Brynmawr ; ; ; ) is a market town, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at ...

. The

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

writer and academic

was born in Pandy in 1921.

References

External links

Kelly's Directory of 1901www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pandy and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire