IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Trebencyn, ABERGAVENNY, NP7 8AR

Looking towards The Skirrid from the south. The crop is barley.

Looking north towards Bryn Arw in the distance. The crop is barley.

Sheep are grazing in a field on the north side of Ross Road, the B4521 which lies beyond or beside the trees.

'A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast' Intriguingly decorated water trough outside what is now a hospital, once held Rudolph Hess as a prisoner of war, and is where Crawshaw Bailey Jnr built his home in 1875...

This curious feature is built into the wall of the old Maindiff Hospital.

In June 1942 Rudolph Hess was brought to Maindiff Court where he was held prisoner. On the May 10, 1941, he bailed out over Eaglesham from an ME 110 fighter bomber. He was captured by the Home Guard held and for a time in the Tower of London. At the end of the war in 1945 he was flown to Nuremberg to stand trial for crimes against humanity. He died aged 93 on 17 August, 1987 in Spandau prison in Berlin were he had been held since receiving a life sentence at Nuremberg for war crimes.

Abergavenny was once home to two large mental health hospitals, of which this one, the smaller, survives. Maindiff Court was built in 1877 by the South Wales ironmaster, Crawshay Bailey II as a country house. In 1924 the estate was presented to Monmouthshire Asylum Committee becoming Maindiff Court Hospital. Maindiff Court became a military hospital during World War II and also housed and treated POW's, the most notable being Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, who was held at Maindiff Court from June 1942 until the Nuremberg Trials at which he was sentenced to incarceration in Spandau Prison. Poor old Hess was kept here for debriefing, assessment and observation, having his own room but he was guarded by MP's (Military Police) at all times. He was allowed a high degree of freedom given his erstwhile status, often being driven about the local countryside by his redcap minders. His favourite places locally were the Sugar Loaf, White Castle and Coed y Bwnydd wooded hillfort, a beauty spot in spring. Hess also liked to speak with children and seemed glad to be out of the Nazi regime and in British hands. As we all know, I hope, mental illness is more widespread than some people would believe and Maindiff Court provides a vital service over many years with four wards which lie within beautifully kept gardens and grounds. Ty Skirrid, a 12-bedded ward for forensic rehabilitation which caters for men and women who have a mental disorder and have offended or are at risk of offending and provides on-going psychiatric treatment, Lindisfarne, a 3-bedded un-staffed unit which is overseen by staff from Ty Skirrid which provides unsupervised semi-independent living prior to discharge, Hiraeth Day Hospital provides 12 places a day for 5 days a week for the Abergavenny and rural communities. The ECT department provides electro-convulsive therapy treatment facilities for serious disorders and the Gwent Specialist Substance Misuse Service. Good luck to all former patients and future ones.

Looking from the stile of a footpath north towards Trebencyn.