The train slows, and I reach up to grab my backpack from the shelf above.
“Getting off here?” the lady opposite enquires.
“Yes, I’m off to explore Abergavenny.”
She chuckles. “How ironic. You’re vanishing when it should be me.”
I frown.
“Have you heard of the Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes?”
I nod.
“There’s a connection.” She taps the window. “With Abergavenny.”
I jump off and wonder what the mysterious connection between Abergavenny and the film that made Alfred Hitchcock famous is.
Abergavenny lies only six miles from the English border, just outside the Bannau Brycheiniog, or Brecon Beacons, National Park.
It was once the site of a Roman fort called Gobannium, where the small River Gavenny meets the River Usk. A public car park now occupies the site where Roman chariots were once parked.
But two minutes from here stands one of the town’s most impressive ruins. Abergavenny Castle dates back to 1067.
The ruins I see today are due to the Civil War. Charles I ordered the castle to be damaged so the Roundheads couldn’t make use of it.
However, standing in the middle of a large earth motte is a turreted stone keep. It looks like a castle keep, but it’s actually a 19th-century hunting lodge, built by Henry Neville, the Marquess of Abergavenny.
Today, it houses the fascinating town museum, which has some exquisite displays, including a World War 2 air raid shelter, an example of a typical Welsh cottage kitchen, and the contents from the local Basil Jones’ Grocery Shop.
But there doesn’t seem to be any connection with Alfred Hitchcock.
The views from the castle include two of Abergavenny’s most popular hills. One is called The Blorenge, and the other is called Sugar Loaf. At 596 metres, Sugar Loaf is just fourteen metres short of being classified a mountain, but it still offers mountain-like panoramas stretching far into Herefordshire, the South West, and vast swathes of the Brecon Beacons.
As I drop into the adjacent Castle Meadows, I find the confluence of the River Gavenny and the River Usk, which gave Abergavenny its name.
It’s an idyllic stroll along the Usk’s banks, alongside the cattle-munched Castle Meadows, to Linda Vista Gardens. Will I find a Hitchcock connection here?
A local gentleman called Henry Jenkins built the house and gardens in 1875. Despite its Welsh location, the name Linda Vista is Spanish for beautiful view. That’s because Henry Jenkins made his fortune as a property developer in Chile. When he came back to his home town, he built a house here for the glorious views along the River Usk.
Subsequent owners developed the formal gardens, but then sold them to the local council in 1957 to become a public park.
I’m tempted to sit down on a bench in the formal borders, but my Hitchcock hunt continues. I wonder if there are any Hitchcock clues in St Mary’s Priory.
Like many church sites, people worshipped here long before Christianity, but the Normans built a church here in 1070 when they built the nearby castle.
As I weave between the two sets of doors and step inside the vast nave, I understand immediately why this is sometimes called the “Westminster Abbey of Wales.”
Although a parish church today, St Mary’s began life as a Benedictine Priory, established by the first Norman lord of Abergavenny, Hamelin du Balun. It survived Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries thanks to the close relationship between Abergavenny’s lords and the royal Tudor dynasties.
Cutting through the 172-foot-long nave and chancel, I’m drawn to a huge wooden carving beneath a stained glass window. It’s 15th century and is of Jesse, the father of King David. Despite its size, this is just one small part of a much larger wooden family tree depicting the lineage of Jesus Christ.
There’s nothing else like this found anywhere in Britain, and the Tate Britain museum has described it as one of the finest medieval sculptures anywhere in the world.
Like Westminster Abbey, St Mary’s Priory has many effigies and monuments in its Herbert Chapel. It’s like walking through a Who’s Who of historical figures.
There’s one of William Herbert, the 1st Earl of Pembroke. When he took control of Pembroke Castle, he became the guardian of young Henry Tudor, who was later crowned Henry VII.
Next to him lies his brother, Sir Richard Herbert, who fought during the Wars of the Roses before being captured at the Battle of Edgcote. He was later beheaded. Thankfully, his effigy is complete!
Walking through the choir area, I’m captivated by the intricate carving of the 15th-century monastic choir stalls. Not everyone who entered this building treated it with respect, though. It’s believed that Cromwell’s soldiers used the altar as a dining table and stabled their horses overnight in the nave!
Outside is the 12th century Tithe Barn, which was originally built to house the tithes, or taxes, paid by those living on the monastic estate. Since then, it’s had a varied career. During the 17th century, it housed a theatre, and during the 20th century it was even a discotheque!
In 2002, its ownership returned to the church, which now uses it as an exhibition space, and it also houses a community cafe.
I’m still perplexed about Abergavenny’s Hitchcock connection, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the large Maindiff Court Hospital on the outskirts of town. During World War 2, one of its most famous residents was Germany’s Deputy Führer, Rudolf Hess.
In 1941, Hess escaped Germany by flying a plane to Scotland, intending to arrange peace talks. However, when the Scottish authorities assessed him, they felt he was not of sound mind, and recommended treatment in an isolated part of the country.
Abergavenny’s Maindiff Court Hospital treated Hess for three years, where he had a room of his own. They even allowed him out for walks in the local area, although guards always accompanied him.
One such walk included another of Abergavenny’s iconic hills, known as The Skirrid. The word Skirrid comes from the Welsh word Ysgyryd, which means to shake or tremble.
Motorists approaching Abergavenny from Hereford on the A465 might think something has taken a huge chunk out of the middle of the hill.
However, it’s actually an optical illusion caused by a huge landslip at the northern end of the ridge. Apparently, legend has it that an earthquake or a lightning strike caused this landslip at the exact moment of Christ’s crucifixion.
Is that why Skirrid Fawr is also called the Holy Mountain? Possibly, although there are remains of a ruined chapel dedicated to St Michael at the top of the hill, which was used by Roman Catholics after the Reformation.
Either way, I bet Hess enjoyed the astounding views from the 486-metre summit.
Dejected at not finding a Hitchcock connection, I head back downhill and into Abergavenny town centre. Perhaps the woman on the train was teasing me.
But when I reach the top of Frogmore Street, I spy a blue plaque in a barbershop doorway. This is where the author, Ethel Line White, was born.
Ethel was a prolific author and lived most of her life in Abergavenny. Alfred Hitchcock adapted her most famous book, The Wheel Spins, into a film.
This film was Hitchcock’s first major success, which led him to Hollywood, and it also launched Michael Redgrave’s career.
But Hitchcock gave the film a different title. He called it The Lady Vanishes.
I check my watch. My train home is due any minute. I wonder if that lady will be on it. I can thank her for her suggestion if she is. I’ve had a fabulous time exploring Abergavenny.
If not, then it seems the lady has vanished after all!
Factfile
- In the Tithe Barn, the Abergavenny Tapestry depicts 1,000 years of Abergavenny’s history and is 24 metres wide. It took 60 volunteers six years to complete.
- Celebrity chefs and writers flock to Abergavenny on the third weekend of September for its hugely successful Food Festival.
- Abergavenny-born John Williams was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift.
- The Angel Hotel is the only hotel in Wales to appear in both the original 1911 and the 2011 Michelin Guide.
- Abergavenny has one of the oldest documented markets in Wales. Its market charter dates back to 1241.
Getting There
By Road: Abergavenny lies 23 miles southwest of Hereford on the A465, and 50 miles from Bristol via the M4 and A4042.
By Rail: Regular services connect Abergavenny with Hereford, Shrewsbury, Manchester, and Cardiff.
By Bus: Service 68 connects Abergavenny with Monmouth, Mon to Sat.
Want To Know More?
Website: https://www.visitabergavenny.co.uk/
Tel: 01873 853254