Trellech (occasionally spelt Trelech, Treleck or Trelleck; Welsh: Tryleg) is a village and parish in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales.

[1] There are four nature reserves nearby; New Grove Flower Meadow, noted for its orchids, and Trellech Beacon are both owned by Gwent Wildlife Trust while Cleddon Bog[2] and Croes Robert Wood are both SSSIs.

[3] It is thought that the Welsh name Tryleg probably means 'conspicuous stone' and derives from the intensifying prefix try- and *lleg, an unrecorded variant of the common noun llech 'stone, slab'.

Trellech was one of the major towns of medieval Wales, the remains of which have been subject to archaeological excavations which have been sustained over many years and which continue today.

It is most likely that the town was established by the De Clare family specifically for the exploitation of local supplies of iron ore from the Forest of Dean, and charcoal produced in the surrounding woodlands, to provide weapons, armour and iron work for their military advances in Wales, including the building of Caerphilly Castle.

Subsequently, the ravages of Owain Glyndŵr and his men in the early 15th century further reduced the prosperity and in consequence the importance of Trellech.

In 2008 the Monmouth Archaeological Society said, "there is now no room for debate"[11] that the excavations by Wilson and others have identified the main part of the medieval town to be around the minor road towards Catbrook, to the south of the current village, on what is now farmland.

At the west end of the church, directly below the window, is a Royal Coat of Arms for King Charles II dated 1683.

During 1974 considerable repairs were undertaken to the north and south aisles, and in 2001 the majority of the churchyard dry-stone wall was removed and rebuilt.

Three of the four faces of the sundial show the village's historic features: Tump Terret, with the inscriptions MAGNA MOLE ("Great in its Mound") and O QUOT HIC SEPULTI ("Oh!

The sundial stood in a garden, on top of the inverted ancient font, until both were moved inside the church in the early 20th century.

[19] Three large monoliths of conglomerate stone, commonly referred to as puddingstone, are located in a field on the eastern side of the B4293 to the south of the village.

(SO 498051)[20] The stones, situated on publicly accessible land belonging to the Davies family of Crosshands Farm, are a scheduled ancient monument.

Various local traditions are ascribed to them: that they were erected by Harold Godwinson to celebrate a victory over the Welsh in 1063; that they commemorate three chieftains who fell fighting against the Romans; or that they were flung from the Skirrid by the mythical Jack o' Kent in a trial of strength with the Devil.

Houlder (1978) speculates that they were once part of a much larger and impressive alignment,[31] but Castleden (1992) suggests that they did not form part of a stone circle[22][32] Aubrey Burl asserts that short stone-rows of this kind were used as the ritual centres of families of "perhaps ten or twenty adults and children", though the erection of large stones required the co-operation of several such families.

It dates back to Norman times, as the site of a small motte and bailey castle; traces of its surrounding ditch remain.

A local myth, commemorated on the sundial, was that it was a burial mound for those killed in actions between the forces of Harold Godwinson and the opposing Welsh.

[16] Trellech Court -- now the site of the farmhouse -- was the seat of a branch of the Seymour family until it passed to John Rumsey in the early 18th century.

[16] Sometimes known as St Anne's Well, this circular wellspring, surrounded by a stone wall and seating, is located in a field on the left of the road to Tintern, about 400 yards (370 m) east of the village.

The young maidens of Trellech anxious to know how long they had to wait until their wedding day, would drop a pebble into the water and every bubble that arose counted for one month.

The Centre is a focus for many aspects of village life including film nights, concerts, educational classes and other social events.

[35] Philosopher, logician and mathematician Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was born at Cleddon Hall, then known as "Ravenscroft", the country home of his parents Lord and Lady Amberley, situated between Trellech and Llandogo.