St Pierre, Monmouthshire
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St Pierre is a former parish and hamlet in
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 ...
, south west of
Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...
and adjacent to the
Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...
. It is now the site of a large
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
and
country club A country club is a privately-owned Club (organization), club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Ty ...
, the Marriott St Pierre Hotel & Country Club, which was previously a large
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
and deer park belonging to the Lewis family.


History

The manor of St Pierre was originally part of the parish of Runston, now a deserted village whose only standing remains are Runston Chapel, and was later amalgamated for civil purposes with the neighbouring parish of Mathern. It is uncertain whether the name originates from a Welsh family, Pŷr, or is of Norman origin. Around 1380, St Pierre was owned by Sir David ap Philip, who served under
King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in France, and the name of his son, Lewis, was later adopted by his family and descendants as their surname. The estate continued in the ownership of the Lewis family until 1924, although they had moved out of the mansion to the neighbouring
Moynes Court Moynes Court is a Grade II* listed building in the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, about south west of Chepstow. An earlier building was rebuilt as a private residence by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Llandaff, in about 1609/10, and much o ...
in the late 19th century. The last member of the family to own the estate was
Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
Freke William Wiseman-Clark, who died without issue in 1908. Thomas Lewis, Esq., married the daughter of Sir
Richard Levett Sir Richard Levett (1629 – 20 January 1711) was an English merchant and politician who was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1699. Born in Ashwell, Rutland, he moved to London and established a pioneering mercantile career, becoming involved w ...
,
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
, and other Lewis family members also made propitious marriages. Several members of the family became High Sheriffs of Monmouthshire.Sir Joseph Bradney, ''A History of Monmouthshire'', 1904–33 Others became Members of Parliament, including Thomas Lewis who was MP for Monmouth, Newport and Usk between 1713 and 1752. His family took over and developed the "
New Passage New Passage is a hamlet in the civil parish of Pilning and Severn Beach, in the South Gloucestershire, district, in Gloucestershire, England, on the banks of the Severn estuary near the village of Pilning. It takes its name from the ferry serv ...
" ferry service across the
Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
from Black Rock, in competition with the "Old Passage" service run from
Beachley Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the rivers River Wye, Wye and River Severn, Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller seco ...
by the
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
. In 1925, the mansion and deer park were sold to Daniel Lysaght. The former manor house includes an important 16th-century gatehouse which is a
Grade II* listed building 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 ...
, but the remainder of the building was largely built in the 19th century. Major extensions have been added since the house became a hotel in the 1960s. It was bought by Tintern Abbey Hotels in 1961, and a golf course (now "the Old Course") was opened in 1962 with a second course in 1975.


Church of St Peter

The church of St Peter is a
Grade II listed building 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 ...
. It is
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
in origin, with the earliest records dating to 1254. The
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 ...
is Norman, but little remains of the Norman fabric. The
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 ...
was added in the 14th century. New windows and fittings were installed in the 16th century. The church was restored in the Victorian manner by A. W. Maberly of Gloucester in 1873 to 1875, when altar front, screen and font were reinstalled, these having been removed during the Commonwealth period. The church was further restored by Eric Francis in the early 20th century. It has been suggested that the church may be of
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
origin. It has a Norman doorway and windows, but was largely rebuilt in later centuries. In the chancel are two ancient stone coffin lids, each bearing an inscription in
Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...
, one to Urien de St Pierre, lord of the manor, who died in 1239 and the other to a contemporary cleric of the church, Rector Benet. There are also numerous wall-mounted monuments to members of the Lewis family. The church is adjacent to the main house, now the country club, and is in the parish of Mathern. There are weekly Sunday morning services.


Golf club

St Pierre Golf & Country Club was the venue for the
Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...
in 1980, the
Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian- American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving forc ...
in 1996, and the PGA Welsh Masters in 2000. The club has also hosted many
European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
events including the Epson Grand Prix of Europe from 1986 to 1991 (
match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...
until 1989 and then
stroke play Stroke play is a scoring system in the sport of golf. In the regular form of stroke play, also known as medal play, the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In a regular stroke play competition, the winner is the ...
), and the
British Masters The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently there ...
on eight occasions between 1971 and 1983. The Old Course boasts a championship length of over 6,000 yards, par 72. It hosted the 2010 Fightmaster Cup.


St Pierre Pill

St Pierre Pill, south of the golf club on the
Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path () is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the world to cover the entire len ...
, is an anchorage for small boats on the
Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...
. It is the base of the Chepstow and District Yacht Club. There is a small
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
known as Redcliffe Lights, on Red Cliff overlooking the harbour, which is operated by the Gloucester Harbour Trustees. The harbour originally covered a much larger area, later silted up, and is believed to be the site of an important post-Roman harbour, associated with legends of St Tewdric. A ninth-century source which refers to the harbour as ''Porth-is-Coed'' – a name later used for the nearby village of
Portskewett Portskewett ( or ) is a village and Community (Wales), community (parish) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located four miles south west of Chepstow and one mile east of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, Caldicot, in an archaeologically sensitiv ...
– also provides the first description of the tidal cycle in Britain. According to
Fred Hando Frederick James Hando MBE (23 March 1888 – 17 February 1970) was a Welsh writer, artist and schoolteacher from Newport. He chronicled the history, character and folklore of Monmouthshire, which he also called Gwent, in a series of nearly ...
, as recently as 1860, the harbour was navigable by 70-ton barges as far upstream as the present golf club.Chris Barber (ed.), '' Hando's Gwent'', 1987, Hando reports also that the
Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads (, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby o ...
described it as "one of the three great ports of Britain." Hando. F. J., 1954, ''Monmouthshire Sketch Book'', Newport, R. H. Johns, Chapter VI – Black Rock and Heston Brake.


Gallery

Inside St Pierre Church - geograph.org.uk - 486472.jpg, St Peter's church, interior St Pierre courtyard.jpg, Entrance courtyard St. Pierre. The seat of Charles Lewis Esq.jpeg, The Manor of St. Pierre, 1825 St Pierre Pill.jpg, The harbour at St Pierre Pill, looking towards the
Second Severn Crossing The Prince of Wales Bridge (), previously the Second Severn Crossing () until July 2018, is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England and Wales, opened in 1996 to supplement the traffic capacity of the Severn Bridge built i ...


References


External links


Marriott St. Pierre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pierre, Monmouthshire Former populated places in Wales Villages in Monmouthshire