# St Arvans
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{{Short description|Village in Monmouthshire, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = Wales
| welsh_name = Llanarfan
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [Monmouth](/source/Monmouth_(Assembly_constituency))
| coordinates = {{coord|51.666|-2.700|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = St Arvans
| unitary_wales = [Monmouthshire](/source/Monmouthshire)
| lieutenancy_wales = [Gwent](/source/Gwent_(county))
| constituency_westminster = [Monmouth](/source/Monmouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| post_town = CHEPSTOW
| postcode_district = NP16
| postcode_area = NP
| dial_code = 01291
| os_grid_reference = ST516965
| population = 765
| population_ref = (2011)[{{cite web |url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11128804&c=NP16+6EN&d=16&e=62&g=6496769&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1428161614494&enc=1|title=Community population 2011 |website=neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk |access-date= 4 April 2015}}]
| static_image = St Arvans.jpg
| static_image_width = 240px
| static_image_caption = St Arvans parish church
| module= 240px
Map of the community
}}
'''St Arvans''' ({{langx|cy|Llanarfan}}) is a village and [community](/source/Community_(Wales)) (equivalent to a parish) in [Monmouthshire](/source/Monmouthshire), south-east [Wales](/source/Wales). It is located two miles north west of [Chepstow](/source/Chepstow), close to [Chepstow Racecourse](/source/Chepstow_Racecourse), [Piercefield House](/source/Piercefield_House) and the [Wye Valley](/source/Wye_Valley) [AONB](/source/AONB). It is connected by a [segregated bicycle path](/source/Cycling_infrastructure) to the edge of Chepstow.
==Name==
The name "Sain Arfan" was incorrectly placed on signage provided by Monmouthshire county council, sometime between 2005 and 2010, as a Welsh language version of St Arvans. This translation was never approved by the St Arvans community council or the Welsh speakers within the village itself. It took over 10 years before the signage was corrected to match the fountain stone tablet, and the historically used "Llanarfan" (Welsh translation for the Parish of St Arvans) in 2022.{{cn|date=October 2025}}
==History and amenities==
===Church of St Arvan===
The village [church](/source/church_(building)) is dedicated to Saint Arvan. According to tradition he was a 9th-century [hermit](/source/hermit) who supported himself by fishing for [salmon](/source/salmon) in the [River Wye](/source/River_Wye), and drowned when his [coracle](/source/coracle) capsized. The circular nature of the churchyard suggests that the [church](/source/church_(building)) may be a [Celtic](/source/Celtic_Christianity) foundation. There are remains of a [Celtic cross](/source/Celtic_cross) of the period, and also part of an apparently [Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxons) doorway, but essentially the original church was late [Norman](/source/Norman_architecture) in date. By 1254 it belonged to the small [priory](/source/priory) of St Kingsmark or Cynmarch. It was enlarged between 1813 and 1823, and extensive restoration work was carried out in the 1880s and again in the 1980s. The octagonal tower was the gift of the local property-owner [Nathaniel Wells](/source/Nathaniel_Wells).[{{cite web |url=http://www.starvanschurch.org.uk/history.shtml |title=St Arvans Church. Church History |website=www.starvanschurch.org.uk}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117042111/http://www.starvanschurch.org.uk/history.shtml |date=17 November 2006 }}] The church is a [Grade II listed building](/source/Listed_building).[{{Cadw|num=24762|desc=Church of St Arvan|grade=II|access-date=29 October 2025}}]
===Other===
The village has a large [village hall](/source/village_hall), the Memorial Hall, opened in 1924. There is also a cast iron drinking fountain constructed in 1893. The centre of the village is designated as a [Conservation Area](/source/Conservation_Area).[{{cite web |url=http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/udp/chapter10.html |title=Adopted Unitary Development Plan |website=www.monmouthshire.gov.uk}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712212708/http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/udp/chapter10.html |date=12 July 2010 }}]
The [cave](/source/cave) systems in the area are a strong attraction to [caver](/source/caver)s and potholers.{{cn|date=October 2025}}
To the north of the village is [Wyndcliffe Court](/source/Wyndcliffe_Court), a [Grade II*](/source/Grade_II*) listed house and gardens in the [Arts and Crafts](/source/Arts_and_Crafts) style. The ruined [Piercefield House](/source/Piercefield_House), about a mile to the South, is also listed at Grade II*.[{{cite web | url = http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/monmouthshire/st+arvans | title= Listed Buildings in St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales |publisher= British Listed Buildings |access-date = 18 January 2014}}]
==Governance==
An [electoral ward](/source/Wards_and_electoral_divisions_of_the_United_Kingdom) in the same name exists. This ward stretches north from St Arvans to [Tintern](/source/Tintern). The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,618.[{{cite web |url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/st-arvans-w05000821#sthash.8QfOEj17.dpbs |title=Ward population 2011 |website=www.ukcensusdata.com |access-date= 4 April 2015}}]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.starvanscouncil.co.uk Official Community Council Website]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~familyalbum/kstarvns.htm Kelly's 1901 Directory of Monmouthshire on St Arvans]
* [https://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/ST5196 Photos of area at Geograph.org]
{{Monmouthshire}}
{{Communities of Monmouthshire}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Arvans}}
Category:Villages in Monmouthshire
Category:Communities in Monmouthshire
{{Monmouthshire-geo-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [St Arvans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Arvans) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Arvans?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.