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The Community Website for the Village of Llanvair Discoed  

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Llanvair Discoed (Welsh: Llanfair Is Coed) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, between Chepstow and Newport. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Lamecare'. The name means Mary's (Mair > Fair) church (llan) under (is) the wood (coed). The 'd' at the start of Discoed only appears in more recent versions of the name. The correct Welsh language name is Llanfair Is Coed or Llanfair-iscoed. The wood refers to Wentwood, which at the time of the Kingdom of Gwent separated the cantref of Gwent Is Coed ("this side of the wood", as envisaged from Caerwent), from that of Gwent Uwch Coed ("beyond the wood").






The village contains a small ruined castle, believed to have been built by the FitzPayn family, as lords of Llanvair Discoed, in the 13th century. The ruins of the castle are now situated within the boundaries of a private property. The last resident of the castle was a member of the Kemeys family who died defending Chepstow Castle. The Kemeys family owned and managed a lot of the land around the area, explaining why so many places have 'Kemeys' in the name. If you would like to know more about Llanvair Castle and other Welsh castles click here.

Llanvair Discoed is a popular village and most residents have lived here for many years. The centre of village life is St Mary's Church and The Woodlands Tavern.   


Immediately to the north of the village is Gray Hill with its standing stones and medieval village. From the 900ft (273m) summit there are wonderful views of the Severn Estuary, Wentwood Reservoir and the surrounding countryside.

Thank you to Gwyn Lewis, a former resident of the village for much of the information listed on the History page.


St Mary's Church

The Woodlands Tavern

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