The Vale is named after the
cantref of
Ewias, which may have originally been a small Welsh kingdom following the
Roman withdrawal from Britain and which, after the
Norman conquest of England and
Norman invasion of Wales, became an autonomous
lordship within the
March of Wales. In 1536, the Vale became part of the new county of
Monmouthshire, while other parts of Ewyas to the east became incorporated into
Herefordshire. At the head of the Vale is the
Gospel Pass, which is reputed to have been named after the time in the 12th century when the
Third Crusade passed through the area preaching and fund raising. Nearby, at
Capel-y-ffin, is an 18th-century church or
chapel, one of the smallest in the country, and close to the former home of designer
Eric Gill. Further south near the valley entrance, at
Cwmyoy, the
church there has suffered gradual
subsidence over the centuries, and is best known for the disorienting tilts and twists of the building which add to its character. A few miles away, further into the Black Mountains, is
Partrishow or Patricio, which has an outstanding 11th-century church.
Bruce Chatwin's book
On the Black Hill depicts the upland livestock farming community over the past 100 years or so in the area. A locally born writer and academic
Raymond Williams may well have set to restore the balance with his two books on the
People of the Black Mountains, written a few years afterwards. The Vale of Ewyas is accessed by a single track road between
Llanfihangel Crucorney, near
Abergavenny, and
Hay-on-Wye. The northern part of the valley, above Capel-y-Ffin, is within the
county of
Powys (historically
Brecknockshire), and the southern part within
Monmouthshire. ==Llanthony Priory==