Longtown, Herefordshire

Longtown Castle, also termed Ewias Lacey Castle in early accounts, is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey fortification in Longtown, Herefordshire. It was established in the 11th century by Walter de Lacy, reusing former Roman earthworks. The castle was then rebuilt in stone by Gilbert de Lacy after 1148, who also established the adjacent town to help pay for the work. By the 14th century, Longtown Castle had fallen into decline. Despite being pressed back into use during the Owain Glyndŵr rising in 1403, it fell into ruin. In the 21st century the castle is maintained by English Heritage and operated as a tourist attraction.

Clodock Welsh: Clydog is a village in the west of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Monnow in the foothills of the Black Mountains, close to the border with Wales. The village is in the civil parish of Longtown. Before 1536 Clodock was in the marcher lordship of Ewyas Lacy. Until 1866 it was a large parish (until 1852 in the diocese of St David's), which included the chapelries of Craswall, Llanveynoe, Longtown and Newton. In 1866 each chapelry became a separate civil parish, and the village of Clodock became part of the civil parish of Longtown.The parish church is dedicated to St Clydog, king of Ewyas, who was killed during the 6th century. The present church dates from the 12th century, and is a Grade 1 Listed Building. It is completely un-Victorianised, with west gallery, box-pews, three-decker pulpit and seventeenth century sanctuary furniture.

Walterstone (Welsh: Alt-yr-Ynys) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the Welsh border and the Brecon Beacons National Park, 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Hereford. The parish had a population of 97 in the 2001 UK Census and is grouped with Craswall, Llanveynoe and Longtown to form Longtown Group Parish Council for administrative purposes.There is a motte-and-bailey castle in the village to the west of St Mary's church and an Iron Age hill fort on high ground two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) to the east. The River Monnow and the Welsh Marches railway line share a valley south-east of the village.Allt Yr Ynys, a Grade II listed 16th-century manor house 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) south of the village, has been a country house hotel. The Grade II listed parish church of St Mary is part of the Ewyas Harold group of parishes. In the chancel, there is early 17th-century stained-glass depicting the quartered arms of the Cecils, brought from the nearby Allt Yr Ynys. The churchyard cross is listed Grade II*.The 300-year-old village pub, the Carpenter's Arms, is situated next to the church and has been in the same family for the last 100 years.In the 18th century, a Roman mosaic was reported to have been found in the parish. The exact site is not known but is thought to be in the Coed-y-Grafel area north of the village.In the 1870s the Imperial Gazetteer recorded the area of the village as 1,241 acres (502 ha) with a population of 173.

Llanveynoe (Welsh: Llanfeuno) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the Welsh border and the Brecon Beacons National Park, 14 miles (23 km) south west of Hereford. The parish had a population of 104 in the 2001 UK Census and shares the Longtown grouped parish council with Craswall, Longtown and Walterstone.The village is situated on a ridge of higher land between the Olchon Valley and the valley of the River Monnow.In the Herefordshire volume of The Buildings of England, Pevsner noted the beautiful setting and views from the church but regarded the building as being of little architectural interest following restoration in the 19th century.

Newton is a village and civil parish 11 miles (18 km) south west of Hereford, in the county of Herefordshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 139. The parish touches Dulas, Longtown, Michaelchurch Escley and St. Margarets. Newton shares a parish council with Michaelchurch Escley, St Margarets, Turnastone and Vowchurch called "Vowchurch and District Group Parish Council".

Llancillo is a civil parish in south-west Herefordshire, England, and is approximately 13 miles (20 km) south-west from Hereford. The parish borders Wales at the south in which is the nearest town, Abergavenny, 7 miles (11 km) to the south-southwest. In the parish is the isolated Grade II* listed 11th-century Church of St Peter.

The River Honddu (Welsh: Afon Honddu) (pronounced hon-thee) is a river in the Black Mountains within the Brecon Beacons National Park, southeast Wales. Early recorded versions of the name are of the form Hothenei and hodni which are believed to contain the adjective 'hawdd' meaning for example, pleasant or easy. Later forms such as Honddye have undergone metathesis whereby -ddn- became -ndd-.It rises within the county of Powys near the Gospel Pass at the head of the Vale of Ewyas down which it flows, passing southwards into Monmouthshire to Llanvihangel Crucorney before turning northeastwards to join the River Monnow at the point on the Wales-England border where that river too makes a sudden change of direction. The only significant tributary to join the Honddu is the Nant Bwch though numerous smaller streams flow down the steep sides of the Vale of Ewyas to add to the river's flow.It is likely that the Honddu continued on a southerly course beyond Llanvihangel Crucorney prior to the last ice age but has since been diverted by the presence of a large terminal moraine which stretches impressively across the valley to the west of the village. The southwest to northeast alignment of both the Honddu and the Monnow appear to be related to the course of the Neath Disturbance, an ancient geological weakness, which runs through the valley to the north of the Sugarloaf and on towards Hereford. The upper valley of the Honddu has the characteristic U-shape of a glacially scoured valley though it is not clear where the ice originated that cut this deep trench through the eastern Black Mountains. The modern Honddu is thus something of a misfit river. It has been speculated that glacial ice from the Wye valley glacier invaded the Vale of Ewyas over the Gospel Pass, though no evidence of any glacial till containing clasts of rock from mid Wales has yet been found within the valley to support that proposal. Within the valley is Llanthony Priory, a popular attraction for the many visitors to the National Park. Towards the lower end of the Vale of Ewyas is Cwmyoy with its celebrated church, distorted by the movement of the hillside on which it stands; the entire hamlet has been built on an ancient, and not entirely dormant, landslide.

The Welsh Marches (Welsh: Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin Marchia Walliae) was originally used in the Middle Ages to denote the marches between England and the Principality of Wales, in which Marcher lords had specific rights, exercised to some extent independently of the king of England. In modern usage, "the Marches" is often used to describe those English counties which lie along the border with Wales, particularly Shropshire and Herefordshire, and sometimes adjoining areas of Wales. However, at one time the Marches included all of the historic counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Michaelchurch Escley is a village and civil parish 13 miles (21 km) west of Hereford, in the county of Herefordshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 198. The parish touches Craswall, Cusop, Dorstone, Llanveynoe, Longtown, Newton, Peterchurch and St. Margarets. Michaelchurch Escley shares a parish council with Newton, St Margarets, Turnastone and Vowchurch called "Vowchurch and District Group Parish Council".

Ty-Hwnt-y-Bwlch Farmhouse, (Welsh: translation - The house near the pass), Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse in the north of the county dating from the late 16th century. Located on the hillside above the Church of St Martin, it is a Grade II* listed building.

The Church of St Martin, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire, Wales, was begun in the 12th century, although most of the current structure dates from the 13th century. The church is most notable for its extreme tilt, the result of a landslide. This has led to many attempts to strengthen the church and prevent its collapse, through the use of massive tie beams and buttresses. The church is in the Gothic style, and has a chancel, nave, south porch, and western tower. A round-headed north window dates to the 12th century, and the nave roof has been dated to the late 13th or early 14th century. St Martin's is a Grade I listed building and an active parish church. It is dedicated to St Martin of Tours.

Cwmyoy is an extensive rural parish in Monmouthshire, Wales (Welsh: Cwm Iou, for the valley and parish; Welsh: Cwm-iou, for the village). The standard Welsh name is Cwm Iau or Cwm-iau. In the Gwentian dialect of Welsh that was spoken here until the late 1800s, the name was pronounced as Cwm Iou ('ou', also spelt informally 'oi', for standard 'au' is a common feature of south Wales Welsh). The 'English' name is in fact this local dialect form in a more English spelling. The name of the valley probably originates from the Welsh word iau meaning yoke, in reference to the shape of the hill surrounding it.The village of Cwmyoy is 7 miles (11 km) north of Abergavenny and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Llanthony in the Vale of Ewyas in the Black Mountains. It is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, in an upland location just below the broad ridge of Hatterrall Hill, which carries the Wales–England border and Offa's Dyke Path.