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Trellech (occasionally spelt Trelech, Treleck or Trelleck; ) is a village and parish in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. Located south of Monmouth and north-north-west of Tintern, Trellech lies on a plateau above the Wye Valley on the southern fringes of of woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three Bronze Age are situated in the village, known as Harold's Stones, which overlook the historic church of St Nicholas, a Grade I listed building.
Although a relatively small village in modern times, it was one of the largest towns in Wales in the 13th century, and is now a site of archaeology interest to determine its extent and role at that time. The village is designated as a conservation area.
There are four nature reserves nearby; New Grove Flower Meadow, noted for its , and Trellech Beacon are both owned by Gwent Wildlife Trust while Cleddon Bog and Croes Robert Wood are both .
The village is noteworthy because of the variety of different modern spellings of the name. Historically, up to 30 different variations of the name have been recorded, of which four are still commonly used. On each of the three roads entering the village, signs give a different spelling: Trellech, Trelleck and Trelech.
Stuart Wilson's interest in this field and the possibility that his hunch might be correct was the subject of a 30-minute BBC Radio 4 documentary, presented by the archaeologist Francis Pryor, and entitled The Boy Who Bought a Field, broadcast on 6 March 2006. The programme revealed that Wilson had apparently discovered medieval walls and yard-paving. In 2008 the Monmouth Archaeological Society said, "there is now no room for debate"Stephen Clarke, Down the Dig: Monmouth, an adventure in archaeology, 2008, Monmouth Archaeological Society, that the excavations by Wilson and others have identified the main part of the medieval town to be around the minor road towards Catbrook, to the south of the current village, on what is now farmland. In 2016, Wilson proposed turning the site into a camp site, research centre and tourist attraction. Max Evans, "Lost City of Trellech: Man spent life savings on field", BBC News, 19 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016 Some of Wilson's claims have been criticised by academic archaeologists. Avi Selk, "A ‘militant archaeologist’ is famous for finding a lost city. Some say he just stole the credit.", Washington Post, 17 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017]
A church on this site, probably a wooden structure, was endowed by Ffernfael ap Ithel and Meurig ap Tewdrig who were rulers of Gwent in the 7th and 8th centuries. The Preaching Cross in the churchyard is early Medieval in date, as is the font. The present building dates from the 13th or early 14th century. The early English Gothic stonework has been dated to between 1225 and 1272, and that of the Decorated Gothic up to 1350. The church has a large clerestory nave, with a much smaller chancel. The "impressive" interior has a "spendidly high" tower arch, and the five-bay nave has arcades on octagonal piers. The altar rails and pulpit, dated 1640, are survivals of 17th century church interior design. At the west end of the church, directly below the window, is a Royal Coat of Arms for King Charles II dated 1683. Records are held by the church dating from 1692. Complete lists of vicars, from 1359, and , from 1763, can be found in the entrance to the south aisle. The rear of the main church door is inscribed "IHS 1595".
When the weathercock was removed from the spire in 1972 it was found to have been made in Ross-on-Wye in 1792. The original spire fell, damaging the roof of the nave, and a contemporary reference attributes this to "lightning and storms". In the Bell tower the cage housing the three bells is of a type similar to that found in others constructed about the year 1700. At the end of the last century the church was in a neglected state and was extensively renovated and re-roofed. The Belgian slates then in place were replaced with Welsh slates in 1961. The chancel was replastered in 1972 and painted white. During 1974 considerable repairs were undertaken to the north and south aisles, and in 2001 the majority of the churchyard dry-stone wall was removed and rebuilt.
The stones are on slightly elevated ground close to running water and springs, which might be relevant to the choice of site. They are believed to date back to the Bronze Age. Such remains are rare in this part of Wales. Various local traditions are ascribed to them: that they were erected by Harold Godwinson to celebrate a victory over the Welsh in 1063; that they commemorate three chieftains who fell fighting against the Romans; or that they were flung from the Skirrid by the mythical Jack o' Kent in a trial of strength with the Devil.Fred Hando, (1944), The Pleasant Land of Gwent, Newport: R. H. Johns
The stones form an approximate line running between north-east and south-west at an azimuth of about 229°, which probably indicates the midwinter sunset, though the midsummer sunrise cannot be excluded on account of the lack of precise alignment of the stones. They have been described as "the most visually impressive of the alignments in South Wales." Their location, without good views beyond the immediate surroundings, suggests that its alignment may be significant. The stones are respectively , , and high, the tallest being at the south-west; the overall length of the row is . The central stone has what are thought to be cup marks. It is supposed that the stones were dragged to the site on logs and levered into position, probably either for seasonal information or for use at religious ceremonies. Houlder (1978) speculates that they were once part of a much larger and impressive alignment, but Castleden (1992) suggests that they did not form part of a stone circle
Aubrey Burl asserts that short stone-rows of this kind were used as the ritual centres of families of "perhaps ten or twenty adults and children", though the erection of large stones required the co-operation of several such families. He compared the Trellech stones to the row at Le Vieux-Moulin, Plouharnel, near Carnac, and says that "Similar short rows were erected by communities in Ireland, Britain and Brittany in the centuries of the Bronze age between 1800 and 1000 BC". The source of the Trellech stones may have been the nearby Beacon Hill where there are outcrops of a similar conglomerate. A fourth stone, on nearby common land, is believed to have been destroyed in the 18th century.
Trellech Court -- now the site of the farmhouse -- was the seat of a branch of the Seymour baronets family until it passed to John Rumsey in the early 18th century. The existing building is, according to Bradney, "a building of no architectural features", and dates from around the time of Rumsey's ownership. It was converted into a farmhouse in the later 19th century.
It is a clootie well, where token offerings are placed around and within the well, and strips of cloth and ribbons are hung from neighbouring trees. It is also used as a wishing well. Traditionally, "to make a wish one threw into the water a small metal object. Many bubbles arising from it meant a rapid granting of one's wish, few bubbles meant that a long period of time would elapse before the wish came true and no bubbles at all meant that one's wish had not been granted. The young maidens of Trellech anxious to know how long they had to wait until their wedding day, would drop a pebble into the water and every bubble that arose counted for one month." Stephanie Poultner, "Wells and Springs around Trellech", Living Spring Journal, 2000. Retrieved 13 February 2015
When Trellech Primary School moved to a new site on the north side of the village, the 1820 school building was claimed by the Diocese of Monmouth, but eventually passed to the Trellech Babington Educational Trust, a registered charity established in 1992. The Babington Centre is now the main asset owned by the Babington Educational Foundation. The Centre is a focus for many aspects of village life including film nights, concerts, educational classes and other social events.
Kate Humble, the television presenter, farms in Trellech. In 2013 Spice Girls singer had a house in Catbrook, to the south of the village.
(1996). 9781873827499, Logaston Press. ISBN 9781873827499
Tump Terret and Court Farm
Tump Terret is situated within the grounds of Court Farm to the southwest of the church. It dates back to Norman times, as the site of a small motte and bailey castle; traces of its surrounding ditch remain. It was known to be in existence before 1231 and the castle was still extant in 1263, when it was mentioned in manorial documents. A local myth, commemorated on the sundial, was that it was a burial mound for those killed in actions between the forces of Harold Godwinson and the opposing Welsh. A now-vanished summer house was built by the Rumsey family on top of the mound.
The Virtuous Well
Sometimes known as St Anne's Well, this circular wellspring, surrounded by a stone wall and seating, is located in a field on the left of the road to Tintern, about east of the village. Local tradition is that it is the only one remaining of originally nine in Trellech. In the 17th century, it was reportedly much frequented, and reputed to cure "the scurvy, colic and other Humorism". Water from the well is rich in chalybeate.
The Village Hall / The Babington Centre
The building now known as the Trellech Village Hall, previously The Babington Centre was constructed in 1820 as a primary school. A school was first established in the village in 1591 by the epigrammatist John Owen, and a century later, in 1691, a new school was set up by the local vicar, Zachary Babington, a relative of the bishop of Llandaff, Gervase Babington. Babington established a charity to enable poor children in the village to be educated. History of The Babington Centre. Retrieved 13 February 2015
The Lion Inn
Built in the late 16th century and completed in 1580, the grade II listed Lion Inn was originally a coaching inn, brew house and pig farm. Many of the original features of the brewing cellar still remain, as do a number of outhouses that were used as pigsties. The Lion Inn has won CAMRA awards for its . The inn has activities including an annual beer festival, a cider and perry festival, the entering of a team in the Monmouth raft race and a Burns Night celebration. Alternate Mondays feature 'Open Mic' nights.
Notable people
Philosopher, logician and mathematician Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was born at Cleddon Hall, then known as "Ravenscroft", the country home of his parents Lord and Lady Amberley, situated between Trellech and Llandogo.
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