St. Arvans

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St. Arvans is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located two miles north west of Chepstow, close to Chepstow Racecourse, Piercefield House and the Wye Valley AONB. The cave systems in the area are a strong attraction to cavers and potholers.

[edit] History and amenities

The village church [1] is named for St. Arvan. According to legend he was a 9th century hermit who supported himself by fishing for salmon in the River Wye, and drowned when his coracle capsized.

The circular nature of the churchyard suggests that the church may be a Celtic foundation. There are remains of a Celtic cross of the period, and also part of an apparently Saxon doorway, but essentially the original church was late Norman in date. By 1254 it belonged to the small priory of St. Kingsmark or Cynmarch. It was enlarged between 1813-1823, and extensive restoration work was carried out in the 1880s and again in the 1980s^[1].

The village has a large village hall, the Memorial Hall, opened in 1924. There is also a cast iron drinking fountain constructed in 1893 [2]. The centre of the village is designated as a Conservation Area^[2].