England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llanvihangel Pont y Moile St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Llanvihangel Pont y Moile lies in the western portion of central Monmouthshire roughly 5 miles west of the market town of Usk and only a mile northwest of the industrial town of Pontypool. Llanvihangel Pont y Moile sits on the former route of the A472 connecting Pontypool with Usk but nowadays downgraded following the completion of Pontypool's eastern bypass, the A4042. As time has passed the parish has passed from being exclusively rural to becoming increasingly urban as Pontypool has expanded almost to the front door of the church. Once a small, very small, rural hamlet with farms scattered across the wider parish it surely now will not be long before building continues right up to the new bypass engulfing Llanvihangel Pont y Moile. Like most rural parishes in Monmouthshire dairy cattle dominated the farming landscape with many small hedged fields, today the vast industrial park of Mamhilad Park Estate dominates the area along with decaying ruins of a former further factory. Modern developments have come aplenty to Llanvihangel Pont y Moile, first to arrive was the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal which passes through the parish, this was followed by the Abergavenny to Newport railway which runs east of the new bypass. Llanvihangel Pont y Moile is drained southwards by the Afon Llwyd which meets the usk at Caerleon before the patter runs into the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Newport. Llanvihangel Pont y Moile is sited at 90 metres above the sea at the church but the parish rises markedly eastwards and includes the local high spot of 173 metres on the hills above Llandegfedd Reservoir. Llanvihangel Pont y Moile parish was fairly typically sized for a pastiral parish covering just under 1,700 acres and supporting a population of close to 200 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llanvihangel Pont y Moile is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Michael's church sits on the northern side of the former A472, Usk Road, directly west of the thatched Horse & Jockey Inn, sadly as Pevsner points out the new roundabout 100 yards away to the east spoils the rather bucolic scene. St Michael is a deceptive church its outward appearance giving the impression of relative modern completion, it takes Pevsner's internal inspection to reveal a much older building where the wagon-roofs are clearly late medieval and probably from the early 15th century. From that Perpendicular first build it is reported that restoration began as early as 1736 and whilst that work is relatively undocumented a further early 20th century restoration was responsible for much of the exterior we see today complete with primrose coloured wash. Pevsner points to the bellcote as the church's oddest feature, the square, stone double bellcote being carried, internally, on 3 pointed arches. As the Usk Road is remarkably busy it is welcome that the slip road for the inn also doubles for church parking allowing a relaxed visit. Metal gates grant entry to a churchyard which is sadly beset with trees which surround the church particularly from the south removing those favoured aspects.