Llanvapley () 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 ...

of Gobion Fawr, in

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 ...

, south east

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 ...

, United Kingdom. ''Llan'' has replaced the (earlier) ''Eglwys'' (1254). This village lies 4 miles north east of 2023’s Best Places to Live listed town, Abergavenny.

Location

Llanvapley is located at . Llanvapley is sited on the B4233 road, a popular route for cyclists, about four miles from

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 ...

and nine miles from

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. In standard Welsh the name of the parish is Llanfable. In the Gwentian dialect this was Llanfaple (a "b" at the beginning of a final syllable becomes "p") (although one might expect Llanfapla, as by the 1800s a final "e" was pronounced as "a"). The form Llanvapley is the anglicised spelling of the Gwentian dialect form. A variant anglicised spelling - Llanfapley - preserves the Welsh "f" Curiously, this hybrid spelling is found in some Welsh-language texts in the 1800s. Both Llanvapley and Llanfable occur on ancient maps, documents and property deeds. The spelling Llanfapley is still used occasionally.

Amenities

The Red Hart Inn, in the centre of the village, reopened in February 2020 after a substantial renovations and offers diverse menus and craft ales. Families are welcome and the large south facing pub garden to the rear has great views of the Llanvapley cricket ground and surrounding countryside. Extensive parking is available on site. Llanvapley has an active

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

team and the modern cricket pavilion and

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

is run by the Llanvapley Sports & Social Association and is also used as a

polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English, British English and Canadian English although a polling place is the building and polling station is the specific ...

. The site includes an excellent children's playground with tree seats and picnic benches. The Local

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

meets regularly, tai chi classes are often available together with the monthly meeting Llanvapley and District Gardening Club, and village afternoon teas are held on the first Monday afternoon of each month in the pavilion, amongst other activities. There is a walking group and village life is very active. Church of St Mabli is of 15th century origin, ancient yet recently sympathetically renovated using natural materials sourced locally; services are held on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. The Rev. Heidi Prince was appointed as Priest-in-Charge in 2015, having been a highly popular Rector of Llanvapley between 1997 and 2006. She was the first woman to be appointed in six centuries of worship. The church has a strong congregation and is part of a group of local parishes including

Llanvetherine Llanvetherine () is a village in the community of Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located five miles north east of Abergavenny on the B4521 road to Ross-on-Wye. The name comes from the Welsh Saint Gwytherin. History and amenities The v ...

Llantilio Crossenny Llantilio Crossenny () is a small village and much larger former community, abolished in 2022, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. Part of the old community is now part of Skenfrith co ...

and Penrhos. The group has a parish magazine known as The New Times which is available to download on the group websit
Llantilio Group website
Llanvapley Court is the largest property in the village and was in the past a country hotel and housed the

Land Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on Ground warfare, land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include avia ...

during WWII. A number of historic Welsh

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

s of architectural note can be found within the curtilage of Llanvapley, as illustrated in the Historic Houses of

, by Lord Raglan. The village has strong transport links, being about a 7 minute drive and 4 miles from

Abergavenny railway station Abergavenny railway station () is situated south-east of the town centre of Abergavenny, Wales. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Transport for Wales. It lies on the Welsh Marches Line between ...

with direct trains to London, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Hereford, Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester and beyond. Education provision locally is strong and free state school transport is provided by

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 ...

leaves the village at about 8am daily. The local state schools include the outstanding

Monmouth Comprehensive School Monmouth Comprehensive School () is a comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11–18, situated in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. History The school was established in 1903 when it was known as William Jones Elementary School. This sand ...

and Cross Ash Primary,

Hereford Sixth Form College Hereford Sixth Form College is a co-educational state funded sixth form college in Hereford, England. It offers over 40 subjects at A-Level and 10 at GCSE. It is on the A465 in Aylestone Hill, in the east of Hereford, opposite Wye Valley Nuffi ...

, and independent schools including Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools for boys and girls. The village lies within the historic

Three Castles The Three Castles was a former medieval lordship, comprising the fortifications of Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castles were established by the Normans in the wake of their conquest of England in 1066, t ...

area, a ten-minute drive of the historic castles of Raglan,

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Castle,

Skenfrith Skenfrith () is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is located on the River Monnow, close to the border between Wales and England, about north-west of Monmouth. History and amenities The Welsh placename ''Ynysgynwraidd'', ...

and Grosmont. Excellent cinema is available 4 and 9 miles away, at The Baker St and Savoy cinemas respectively, the latter being the oldest working cinema in Wales. Openreach provides super fast broadband throughout the village, averaging 70 megabytes per second and for that reason the village attracts many seeking to escape to the county whilst maintaining active careers.

References

{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire