England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Caerwent St Stephen & St Tathan

The Parish

The parish of Caerwent lies in southeastern Monmouthshire roughly 6 miles west of the port & market town of Chepstow, the outer Bristol Channel is also not too far away. Caerwent sits on the former route of the A48 road which links Chepstow with Newport and which now, thankfully, bypasses the village to its north. Caerwent has an ancient history, founded in pre-Roman times and the capital site for the local Silures tribe it became a prominent Roman fort site, Venta Silurum, following their conquest in the 1st century AD. Free of later buildings the site became a notable archaeological site in the years immediately before World War I when it was found to have been walled from the 4th century AD. Those walls were thought to be the most formidable of town defences in Roman Britain, a nod to the war-like local tribes. Today's village is a mere crossroads settlement with its east and western arms extended along the former route of the main road, Heol Caerwent. The parish was largely a farming parish with early gazetteers estimating arable in dominance by roughly 2:1 over pastoral methods. Modern developments have arrived in the parish, the modern M48 motorway passing through the south of the area, the extensive network of freight railway lines, however, was built to service the vast Naval propellant factory lying to the north of the village with facilities scattered across the hillside because of the consequences of accidental explosions. Caerwent is drained southeastwards by the Nedern Brook which passes between Caldicote & Portskewet to reach the nearby outer Bristol Channel. Caerwent is sited at around 20 metres above the sea whilst to its northwest land rises steadily to reach 275 metres at the standing stones and stone circle of Gray Hill.Covering just short of 2,000 acres Caerwent parish was fairly typically sized for its area, that acreage supporting a population of around 350 parishioners. Unlike most of Wales Caerwent is recorded in Domesday Book as a holding of King William but no assets are recorded against it.

The Church

The church of St Stephen & St Tathan lies south of Heol Caerwent accessed by a short pathway from the former main road. Whilst the site is probably one of the oldest Christian sites of worship in the county if not all of Wales there is no sign of that antiquity in today's church it being a typical mish-mash of the medieval period. The chancel is the oldest portion of the church built in the 13th century in the Early English Gothic style with lancet styled windows prevalent including within the fine eastern window configuration. Of the remainder of the medieval structure both nave and western tower date from the later Perpendicular period, the tower being later than the nave.Two phases of restoration are recorded both relatively late in the period for such events, the chancel being restored in 1894 whilst a more general restoration of 1910-12 also added a southern aisle and southern vestry amongst its many changes. Whilst Heol Caerwent is of sufficient width to allow on-street parking a small field is often used as a par park, best if having been dry. The lychgate for entry is set back a few yards from the road and leads to a pathway headed south to the church, the churchyard is extensive and also unobstructed leaving all aspects available for the photographer.