England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wolvesnewton St Thomas a Becket

The Parish

The parish of Wolvesnewton lies in eastern Monmouthshire roughly 8 miles northwest of the port and market town of Chepstow. Wolvesnewton sits about 2 miles west of the meandering B4293 road which connects Chepstow with Monmouth. There is not much to Wolvesnewton, a real blink and miss settlement with a few farmsteads gathered loosely around the church whilst the wider parish also sustains more farms and cottages in a rather dispersed manner. Despite its western location Wolvesnewton had a predominantly arable farming regime with early gazetteers estimating 2/3rds of the acreage as set to growing mainly cereals, the was also much woodland managed by coppicing and the local stone was readily quarried for local building. Todat the milder climate even encouraged the setting of a vineyard within the parish bounds. Wolvesnewton is drained northwards by the Pitt Brook, this eventually meets the Olway Brook where water turns southwest and then the River Usk and a further turn to the south ensues before the Usk reaches the outer Bristol Channel. Wolvesnewton stands on a low knoll in rolling countryside at around 100 metres above the sea, the knoll rises to 130 metres and the odd spot a little higher. Covering roughly 2,700 acres Wolvesnewton parish was typically sized for this area, that acreage would have supported close to 200 parishioners. Like most of Wales Wolvesnewton is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Thomas's church stands north of the main lane passing through from west to east and is accessed by roughly surfaced farm access tracks. Whilst the church is first documented as early as 1254 very little remains of the Early English Gothic era, a window on the southern wall of the nave, the west window of the tower and a blocked door to the north are the main notable features from the 13th century. There was some alterations made during the great church-building era of the 15th century, the doors for the priest and the rood stair date from this period and some of the northern windows are from the late 15th or early 16th century. Whilst the western tower shows that 13th century window its topmost stages including the saddle-backed roof is from Tudor times in the 17th century. The church received a thorough restoration in a phase between 1855 & 1857 which also introduced some faux-Decorated style windows where none had previously appeared to exist. There is no sign marking the dead-end track which leads to the church, it leaves the main through lane at a prominent farm complex and climbs to the church which sits amongst another farm complex, just before the churchyard the track meets other in a wide area suitable for parking, be considerate to the farm traffic. A few trees sit in the southwestern quadrant but other aspects are readily available for the photographer.