Wilcrick ( cy, Chwilgrug) is a hamlet within the administrative boundary of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Newport, South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, just to the west of Magor and approximately southeast of Newport city centre. It is within the historic county of Monmouthshire.

Etymology

The name translates from the Welsh as a "bare hill" or "mound".

Archaeology

Willcrick is located on the B4245 road to the northwest of Magor. To the southeast of the village is Wilcrick Hill which has a

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

on its summit, of which only the earthworks remain. Archaeological evidence of a small

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

settlement found preserved under peat at Barland's Farm suggests that the occupiers may have used the

Caldicot and Wentloog Levels The Caldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarine alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn Estuary, either side of the River Usk estuary near Newport in south east Wales. They are als ...

to pasture their cattle when conditions permitted, and may have moved into the hillfort when the Levels were too wet to be useable. Nearby, a nearly complete 3rd century

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

oak boat was found beside a buried stone and timber quay in 1993, during the building of a distribution depot at the nearby Europark. This suggests that much higher water levels prevailed on the Levels at the time.

The church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

is dedicated to St. Mary, with the minister historically being also the minister for

Llanmartin Llanmartin ( cy, Llanfarthyn) is a village and parish in the city of Newport, Wales. The community The parish contains several communities and is centred on the parish church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, and which gives the name ''"Lla ...

. The only ministers not appearing also as ministers there were Peter Ameline, rector of Wilcrick in 1535 and Edmond Jones instituted to Wilcrick on 16 July 1631. After that the names and dates of ministers for both parishes are the same. The church has a bell of 1726 cast by the Evans foundry of

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

. Historian J.A. Bradney describes the church as comprising

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

, with a bell turret at the west end and containing "nothing of interest except an ancient font". The whole edifice was rebuilt in 1860. Bradney, J. A., ''A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans Into Wales Down to the Present Time'', Volume 4, Parts 1 and 2 - The Hundred of Caldicot, published 1929 and 1932

References

External links

Monumental Inscriptions for Wilcrick
{{coord, 51.58684, N, 2.85443, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST409879), display=title Districts of Newport, Wales Villages in Newport, Wales