Fedw Villages is an unusual history, not in its view of the past, but in its subject matter.  It covers the villages of Devauden and St. Arvans, settlements little researched in contrast to neighbouring Chepstow, Tintern, Monmouth, Trellech and Raglan, about all of which much has been published.  A rich and fascinating past has been discovered.

Various people have influenced the area, Silures, Romans, the Romano-British mix before the founding of the Kingdom of Gwent, and subsequently. the arrival of the Normans and the colonisation of the area by the Cistercians.  The ebb and flow of the Welsh influence, and the rise and fall of industrialisation, are reflected in the area. which, despite wars, incursions.  plague and exploitation, somehow adapted and survived all the erosive influences.  Whether the villages can outlive the contemporary change to what Dr. Howell refers to as ‘the commuter dimension" - and still retain their character and integrity - is one of the questions that is not answered.