Character
Together with the neighbouring larger parishes of Nash and Goldcliff it is one of the so-called "Three Parishes" which have long been treated as a unit - geographically, socially, economically and ecclesiastically.
At high-tide much of the land in the village is below sea-level. A main drainage ditch, with an origin near Llanwern, known as "Monksditch" or "Goldcliff Pill" (probably from the Welsh "pwll" for pool) passes through the village on its way to the sea. Local folklore maintains that the sides of the Monksditch are laced with smuggler's brandy.
The main part of the village has the houses and farmsteads set back from the road in long strips of pasture reflecting a medieval 'cope' land allocation pattern, similar to that used in land reclamation in Holland.
The real outpost of the village is the remote Porton House, situated next to the sea and accessed from Great Porton. Historically Porton has been part of Goldcliff and may have once had its own separate church, although confusion with Whitson church seems more likely. For many years Porton, like Goldcliff, was the site of a salmon fishery.
Read more about this topic: Whitson
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