Ganarew
| Ganarew | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Swithin, Ganarew |
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 Ganarew
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| Ganarew shown within Herefordshire | |
| Population | 171 (2011) |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Monmouth |
| Postcode district | NP25 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Ganarew (from Welsh: Genau'r Rhiw; 'Gana-rhiw', and 'Gan y rew') is a village and small civil parish in south Herefordshire, England near the River Wye and the border with Wales. The village is located 0.62 miles (1.00 km) southwest of the village of Whitchurch on the main A40 road, and lies within the electoral ward of Kerne Bridge. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Monmouth and 8 miles (13 km) from Ross-on-Wye. It contains the Church of St Swithin and Ganarew Manor.
The name Gana-rhiw, now Ganarew, may derive from the Briton "Gan", from genau, meaning "a mouth or opening of a pass"; "Rhiw" is the Welsh word for "hill".
The Imperial Gazetteer of 1855 recorded Ganarew's population as 147, and that it was 835 acres (338 ha) in size. In 1868, the National Gazetteer noted that there was an observatory, 70 feet (21 m) high, on the summit of nearby Little Doward Hill (or Ganarew Hill), from the top of which a view could be obtained of the Bristol Channel. By 1904, The Survey Gazetteer recorded the population as 132, and that there were 848 acres (343 ha).
King Vortigern is said to have made his last stand against Aurelius at Ganarew. Lawman calls it a castle on Cloard Hill in the district of Hergin, and has Vortigern dying after the castle was besieged and fired by Aurelius and Uther.
A cave, at nearby Little Doward, known as "King Arthur's Cave" can be explored, making it unique amongst candidates for the Arthurian cave legend. Helen Hill Miller in her 1969 The Realms of Arthur, suggests a military use for the cave, arguing that the cave's "recesses penetrate very far into the hill, and could hide a substantial force". The cave has a parallel with Cadbury Castle in that it is a cave within a hillfort. It was first inhabited in the Old Stone Age and is thus older than any other Arthurian site.
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Wikipedia