PGW(Gt)37(MON)

New Cemetery  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Llanfoist Fawr  

329031  

213768  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

-  

1894  

New Cemetery, Abergavenny, is located above the south bank of the river Usk, south-west of the town, near Llanfoist. It is registered as a good example of a well-preserved Victorian landscaped garden cemetery. The garden also provides the setting for the Grade II Listed cemetery chapel (LB 17244), the gates and gate piers at the main entrance (LB 17245), and the lychgate at the pedestrian entrance (LB 17246). The cemetery lies on a low hill and is accessed via a lane at the south end of the Abergavenny Bridge. There are two entrances off the lane, the eastern one with a lych gate and the western one a wider gateway flanked by stone piers. The latter may have been deliberately sited opposite an old oak tree on the river bank, which has been drawn into the landscaping scheme; there is an iron bench around its trunk and railings in a semi-circle around it. In the north-east corner of the cemetery is a small lodge. The eastern end of the cemetery was built, landscaped, and opened in 1894. The oldest part is landscaped in the style of a Victorian public park or garden, with sweeping gravel drives (parts now tarmacked), grass and informal planting of trees and shrubs. The planting is mainly evergreen, with many pines, hollies, yews and cypresses. In the centre, on the top of the hill, is a small stone chapel with an octagonal tower. The oldest graves are around the chapel. The east side of the cemetery is bounded by a row of large mature pine trees, and between the cemetery and the river is a row of pines and oaks. The cemetery was later extended westwards, and this part has not been landscaped. Source: Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 4-5 (ref: PGW (Gt)37).