Wolvesnewton (Welsh: Trenewydd Dan-y-Gaer, meaning "new town under the fort") is a small village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom, located 6 miles north west of Chepstow between the villages of Devauden and Llangwm.
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The parish takes its English name from the family of Wolf, who were lords of the manor in the 13th and 14th century, with their house at Cwrt-y-gaer. According to family tradition, they originated in Thuringia and came to the area with the Romans.[1]
The village is located on the northern slopes of what was then Wentwood, which covered a larger area than today. Forest clearances under the Normans led to the establishment of several other "new" villages in the area around the same time, and, as at Shirenewton about 4 miles to the south, the parish church is dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket who had been killed in 1170 and was canonised three years later. The church largely dates from the 13th century but was substantially restored in 1855-57. The war memorial in the churchyard incorporates part of a large mediaeval stone cross.[2]
The Iron Age hill fort at Gaer Fawr (meaning in Welsh, "great fort"), about 1 mile south-west of Wolvesnewton, is the origin of the Welsh name of the village, and is one of the largest hill forts in Monmouthshire.