England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Clodock St Clydog

The Parish

The parish of Clodock forms the southwestern corner of Herefordshire bordering the two Welsh counties of Breconshire & Monmouthshire. Clodock is located rough;y 10 miles north of the Monmouthshire market town of Abergavenny and sits within an extensive area with no significant numbered roads, the closest such road sits almost 4 miles to its southeast, the A465 road which connects Abergavenny with Hereford. Whilst it is the hamlet of Clodock that gifts its name and the location of the church to the parish, Clodock is actually merely a tiny settlement sitting at a road junction and a bridge over the River Monnow, the linear village of Longtown, home to a chapelry not licensed for marriages at this time, is the main centre of population and sits to the north. Longtown is a long stretch of properties sitting on  the ridge of land that separates the Monnow from the Olchon Brook and stretches for almost 2 miles with most properties lining its main lane. Other chapelries lie within Clodock parish but only Craswall was licensed for marriages and will have its own page within this project. This is an upland parish with high ground either side of the Monnow, the valleys saw the heart of Herefordshire's beef industry whilst hardy sheep tackles the poorer upland ground of The Black Mountain. Today it is tourism for outdoor activities which is important to the local economy, the Monnow has abundant trout and is popular with anglers whilst Offa's Dyke National Trail follows the ridge of Black Mountain with Longtown offering accommodation breaking the long trip over to Hay on Wye. The Monnow drains the parish south, then east and finally southeast to reach the Wye at Monmouth, the Wye wiggles its way to the outer Bristol Channel arriving through the port of Chepstow.  Clodock stands at around 120 metres above the sea whilst Longtown occupies a rising site from 130 to 220 metres rising from southeast to northwest, the Black Mountain towering above to the west reaches 531 metres on Hatterat Hill rising to 604 metres at Black Darren whilst Offa's Dyke just pips the 700 metres contour further northwest before the descent to Hay on Wye. Including all of its chapelries Clodock parish covered an extensive 17,800 acres with that population supporting a population of around 1,750 parishioners. Whilst Clodock is not mentioned in Domesday Book Longtown is merely listed as a holding of Roger de Lacy with no recorded assets.

The Church

St Cydog's church sits at the road junction which is all that Clodock consists of alongside some cottages and farms, it sits almost on the banks of the Monnow. The dedication refers to a 5th century Welsh prince allegedly buried in this churchyard, such is the longevity of this site as a place for Christian worship. Whilst a pre-Conquest church existed here the earliest fabric preserved in today's church dates from the immediate post-Conquest era of the 12th century, the nave and chancel arch being 12th century Norman Romanesque work. Further east the chancel, itself, is a 13th century Early English Gothic piece with a single and another blocked lancet window on its northern face. The southern porch is originally 13th century too but has been heightened and altered by later work. The church's western end is marked by an unbuttressed 15th century tower in the late-Perpendicular style shown in its bell-openings and battlementation. Other 14th century Decorated and 15th century perpendicular windows dot the church as replacements during those later medieval periods. Internally the church's panelled western gallery from c1715 is well worth a look. Restoration came late and into the 20th century with work from 1916 to 1919 completing today's building. A rough widening of the verge on the opposite side and close to the stone-built lychgate allows a car to safely park on-road. That stone lychgate grants entry to a churchyard which is open and only a threesome of evergreens on the southern face cause issues for the photographer.