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Llanvaches Castle
The story
History of Llanvaches Castle
Llanvaches () is a village and community within the boundaries of the city of Newport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent.
United Kingdom
- Built
- 5th century
- Era
- Baroque
- Country
- United Kingdom
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 51.625, -2.820
In depth
The fuller history
The village is named after Saint Maches (Latin: Machuta), a daughter of Saint Gwynllyw or Woolos and sister of Saint Cadoc, who according to tradition lived a humble life as a shepherdess in the 5th century but was killed by robbers stealing her finest ram. Saint Tathan, Abbot of nearby Caerwent, to whom the murderers confessed their crime, built a church on the spot where she was killed, which became known as Merthyr Maches and later Llanfaches (the letter m mutating to -f- in Welsh).
The parish church largely dates from the 14th century and is dedicated to Saint Dubricius (Welsh Dyfrig), with Bishops Transcripts dating back to 1725. The church is Grade II listed building. The minister is Revd D. C. Frett.
The first Independent Church in Wales was founded at Llanvaches in 1638 by William Wroth (1576–1642), Rector from 1617. In 1633, King Charles I, advised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, reissued the "Declaration of Sports". This listed the sports that were permitted on Sundays and other holy days, and was published to counteract the growing Puritan calls for strict abstinence on the Sabbath day.
Key dates
- 1638In 1638 Wroth, along with fellow dissenter Walter Craddock, resigned, but continued to preach and gather followers.
- 1639He set up his Congregationalist chapel, "according to the New England pattern", completed in 1639, with the help of the leading Dissenter, Henry Jessey.
- 1802The original church was built in the neighbouring hamlet of Carrow Hill and rebuilt in Llanvaches in 1802.
- 2006In 2006 a hoard of 599 silver denarii, hidden in a locally made cooking pot, was found at Llanvaches by a metal detectorist.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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