The southern end of Llanover village - geograph

Llanover (; ; ) is a village in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Goetre Fawr Goetre Fawr is a Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Monmouthshire, Wales, a few miles south of the town of Abergavenny. According to the 2011 UK Census the population of the community and ward was 2,393. Community The communit ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Name

The name of the village derives from an earlier Welsh form ''Llanfyfor'', made up of ''llan'' 'enclosure, church' and the personal name ''Myfor''.

Location

Llanover is located four miles south of

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

just off the

A4042 road The A4042 is a trunk road that runs from Abergavenny to Newport in south Wales. Route Starting at the junction of the A40 and A465 south of Abergavenny, the A4042 travels south towards Little Mill north of Pontypool. This section is a si ...

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

. The community includes the separate hamlets of Llanfair Kilgeddin,

Llanvihangel Gobion Llanvihangel Gobion () is a village and rural parish of Monmouthshire, Wales, lying within the administrative community of Llanover. Location Llanvihangel Gobion is located approximately 5 miles east of Abergavenny not far from the A40 road ...

Llanddewi Rhydderch Llanddewi Rhydderch is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales at OS . It is off the B4233 road, roughly southeast of Abergavenny, lying within the administrative community of Gobion Fawr. History The township of Llanddewi Rhydderch grew around ...

and

The Bryn The Bryn (also Llangattock-Juxta-Usk or Llangattock Nigh Usk) ( Welsh: Llangatwg Dyffryn Wysg), is a small village on the left bank of the River Usk in Monmouthshire, southeast Wales. It is accessed by a cul-de-sac minor road from the B4598 road ...

(a.k.a. Llangattock Nigh Usk).

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

exists in the same name. This ward includes the parish of Llanarth and elects a county councillor to

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) () is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern ...

. The total ward population at the 2011 census was 2,284. There was formerly a community called "Llanover", in 2022 its boundaries changed so that the village of Llanover became part of Goetre Fawr and the community of "Llanover" was renamed Gobion Fawr. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,392.

History & amenities

Llanover is an

estate village An estate village is a village wholly within and part of a private estate. Usually several hundred years old, they are often well preserved by the family that owns the estate. They often have small commercial operations such as pubs, craft shops, an ...

associated with the Hall family. Augusta

Lady Llanover Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (21 March 1802 – 17 January 1896), born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts. Early life She was born on 12 March 1802, near Abergavenny, the youngest daughter of ...

lived locally all her life and left her mark on the village and the surrounding Llanover House estate which remains privately owned. Her husband Sir Benjamin Hall became Baron Llanover. Her sisters, diplomatic hostess and author

Frances Bunsen Baroness Frances Waddington Bunsen (4 March 1791 – 23 April 1876) was a Wales, Welsh painter, author and diplomatic hostess, wife of Christian Charles Josias Bunsen, and the older sister of Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover, Lady Llanover. Ear ...

and Emily grew up there, educated by their mother Georgina Mary Ann, (née Port) (1771–1850), with Augusta and Frances surviving to become co-heiresses to the estate from their father Benjamin Waddington. Llanover House was demolished in 1936 but the park survives relatively intact and is designated at Grade II* on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

. St Bartholomew's Church, Llanover is a grade II* listed building. The

River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...

flows close by, and to the west lies the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal, a scenic recreational boating route. More recently, Llanover is the birthplace of Penelope Fillon, the wife of

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

, former

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

and candidate in the

2017 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 23 April and 7 May 2017. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS) was eligible to run for a second term, but declared on 1 December 2016 that he wo ...

References

External links

Villages in Monmouthshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire Monmouthshire electoral wards {{Monmouthshire-geo-stub