Garway cy, Llanwrfwy is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in south-west

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England. The population of the civil parish was 430 at the 2011 census. It is set on a hillside above the

River Monnow The River Monnow ( cy, Afon Mynwy) marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of ...

about 6 1/4 miles (10 km) northwest of

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

. It is a sparsely populated area, mainly agricultural in nature. There are several small centres of population including Garway itself, Broad Oak, The Turning and Garway Hill.

Garway church

The church is on the western edge of the parish and is dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

. The earliest record of a monastery on the site is in the seventh century, but it is with the arrival of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

in 1180 that the history of the church at Garway becomes clearer. The Knights Templar built a hut in honour of the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

in Jerusalem. Brooks and Pevsner, in the 2012 revision to the ''Herefordshire'' volume of the ''

Buildings of England The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

'', describe St Michael's as "uncommonly interesting". The excavated foundations of part of the round church (unearthed in 1927) can be seen clearly on the north side of the present church, and the original carved chancel arch, heavily decorated and in the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

style, survives. Most of the current church, which is no longer round, is probably 13th century including the massive defensible tower which was once separate from the main church building. There are numerous carvings both inside and outside the building including a

green man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

, a sword believed to be Templar, a fish and a snake. The

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or ba ...

, on private land near Garway Church, has an inscription dating it to 1326. Both the dovecote and the church are

Grade I listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Media

The dovecote featured in the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins ...

series ''

Bonekickers ''Bonekickers'' is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series. It was written by ''Life on Mars'' and '' Ashes to Ashes'' creators Matthew Graham ...

'' on 8 July 2008. Garway is referenced in ''The Fabric of Sin'', a novel by

Phil Rickman Phil Rickman (also known under the pen names of Thom Madley and Will Kingdom) is a British author of supernatural and mystery novels. Biography Rickman was born in Lancashire in northern England and worked as a journalist for BBC World Service ...

, and in Bernard Knight's chapter in ''King Arthur's Bones'' by The Medieval Murderers.

Gallery

Garway Dovecote (Geograph 1184164 by Pauline Eccles .jpg, Garway Dovecote Garway Church - Green Man.jpg, Garway Church

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

carved In sandstone Garway Church - geograph.org.uk - 46182.jpg, St Michael's Church with its castle-like tower Great Demesne, Garway - geograph.org.uk - 3254219.jpg, Great Demesne, Garway

References

Sources

External links

Church and community site including Garway Church
includes location map

shows plan of church
Photograph of Garway Church

Floorplan of the Garway Complex

Villages in Herefordshire {{herefordshire-geo-stub