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These pages are dedicated to the memory of
Peter Hesketh.
Shirenewton
Shirenewton stands some 500 feet above sea level, with a good view of the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel. At the 1851 census the population was given as 933, compared with the population of Caldicot at 661. It has expanded considerably in the second half of this century, with several housing estates and "fill-in" houses being built.
There's a picture tour taken in the summer of 2000.
The name Shirenewton has had several variations over the years, such as Sheref Newton, Neweton Nether Went, and Nova Villa. The present name derives from the creation of the village in a forest clearing by the Sheriff of Gloucester, Walter Fitzherbert, around 1100 AD. It means "Sheriff's New Tun"; tun is the old word for a homestead. There are two versions of the Welsh name for the village: Trenewydd Gelli Fach, which means "New Homestead in the little grove", and Trenewydd Gelli Farch which means "New Homestead in the stallion's grove". According to "The Place Names of Eastern Gwent" by Osborne and Hobbs, farch (stallion) may in fact refer to the Celtic goddess Epona (later Welsh Rhiannon) who was reputed to appear in the form of a horse or stallion. The grove may have been a place where the goddess was worshipped or venerated.
Both the 1892 Chepstow Directory and the 1901 Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire have entries for Shirenewton, showing it to have around 650 inhabitants and growing "mainly grain and turnips". There is also an old map from the late eighteenth century (you'll need to scroll to the right).
Shirenewton has a church, two pubs and a village shop.
