Lottery Funding for Monmouthshire Roman Links

A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund will enable Caerwent Parish Church to improve its’ visitor facility and enhance the church’s existing interpretation of its’ unique Roman links.

The £5,900 grant awarded to the Parish Church of St. Stephen and St. Tathan, Caerwent will enable the adaptation of the current church structure to include a visitor and hospitality area within the church and a multipurpose learning centre.

Jennifer Stewart, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund Wales, announced the grant award and said, “Caerwent has remarkable Roman links and it is vital that this rich history and information about the church’s role in that history is accessible to the public. This grant will enable the Parish Church to broaden its public use which will increase usage of this important local building whilst also creating a permanent home for important interpretation tools and materials.”

Roman remains

The church is centred in the historically significant Roman city of Venta Silurum. The surviving city walls are maintained by CADW and are considered to be the finest example in northern Europe. Extensive excavation works took place in the early twentieth century and more recently by Channel 4’s ‘Time Team. However, interpretation of the church and its’ internationally significant Roman links and artefacts need to be made more accessible to visitors.

This grant will help the project bring together information about the church itself and Roman artefacts within the church, as well as permanently housing a collection of books and articles of local interest compiled by the Caerwent Historic Trust. Plans also include bringing the church into the digital age with the possible creation of a smartphone app. A web-site has already been created and that will also be enhanced as a result of the grant.

Welcoming the announcement, local Assembly Member for Monmouthshire, Nick Ramsay AM said, “I am thrilled that Caerwent’s important heritage will now be safeguarded and placed on permanent display in the church. The town is home to some of the most impressive Roman monuments in Britain which should be proudly exhibited for tourists and local people alike and this funding will now ensure that this happens.”

Visitor area

The new visitor area within the church will house displays of artefacts unique to the church and will also offer refreshment and toilet facilities for visitors. The hope is that these improvements to the church will encourage broader public use of the building, making it a heritage interpretation centre as well as a place of worship.

Project co-ordinator, Jennifer Powell said, “The aim of this project is to ensure that our local heritage will be better explained for the public and that the promotion of historical and archaeological information will encourage school groups and visitors to learn about local heritage. We are already amazed at the number of visitors we have from abroad and hopefully changes will allow us to attract even greater numbers.”