Penallt

Penallt
The Inn at Penalt
OS grid reference	SO521091
Community	Mitchel Troy
Principal area	Monmouthshire
Preserved county	Gwent
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MONMOUTH
Postcode district	NP25
Dialling code	01600
Police	Gwent
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Monmouth

Penallt is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales set high on a hill above Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, is the 17th century village pub, the "Inn at Penallt", formerly called the Bush Inn.

Description

Nearby, the Penallt Old Church Wood is a 10-acre (40,000 m²) nature reserve managed by the Gwent Wildlife Trust. This deciduous woodland forms a habitat for pied flycatchers, nuthatches, tree pipits, treecreepers and sparrowhawks, as well as plants such as wild daffodils and moschatel.

Penallt Old Church is about a mile north of the village. The main part of the building dates from the 15th or early 16th century, while the lower part of the tower may date from the 14th century. The heavy oak door bears the date 1532. The church was restored in 1887. The churchyard cross has a base and lower shaft of 15th century date. The church dedication is unknown, though there is a local tradition that it was St James, the patron saint of pilgrims. Inside is the royal coat of arms of Queen Anne dating from 1709.

The Argoed, a 17th-century mansion, lies to the south east of the village. It was once owned by the father of Beatrice Webb, the British socialist, economist and reformer. Robert Plant also owned it in the 1980s. George Bernard Shaw stayed with the Webb family and described Penallt as a "special place" Other residents of the village include Jeremy Cook the BBC's rural affairs correspondent and Television presenter Kate Humble. Walter Keeler is a renowned potter specialising in salt glaze pottery.

Gallery of the old Church

• 
  Penallt old church
• 
  Penallt old church
• 
  Penallt old church
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  The Lych Gate of the old church
• 
  Part of the graveyard
• 
  interior
• 
  interior, view up the aisle
• 
  carved inscription inside the church
• 
  the ancient parish chest which is hewn from a tree trunk

• 
  Old chapel
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  Pelham Hall
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  Building in the grounds of the Argoed
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  The war memorial
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  The Inn, formerly The Bush

References

• Alliance of Religions and Conservation (2006). "Penallt". The Cistercian Way. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
• Gwent Wildlife Trust (2006). "Reserves". Gwent Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 2006-10-27. Retrieved 2006-11-08.

External links

• Map sources for Penallt
• Genuki on Penallt
• Gwent Wildlife Trust's Pentwyn Farm, Penallt orchard
• Photos of Penallt Old Church, at geograph.org.uk