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Monmouth County England History and GeograhyMONMOUTH, a borough, market town, and parish, having separate jurisdiction, though locally in the lower division of the hundred of Skenfreth, county of MONMOUTH, of which it is the chief town, 130 miles (W.N.W.) from London, containing 4164 inhabitants. This place, which derives its name from being situated at the mouth of the river Monnow, is by some antiquaries supposed to have been the Blestium of Antoninus, but no Roman antiquities have been discovered to confirm that opinion. It was a place of considerable importance during the time of the Saxons, who, to secure their conquests between the Severn and the Wye, and to repel the frequent incursions of the Britons, erected a stately castle, and fortified the town with walls of immense strength; of the former, a small portion is still remaining, and of the latter, one of the gateway towers, at the entrance from the Ross road, is almost entire, and several other vestiges may be traced in various parts of the town. At the time of the Norman Conquest, it was bestowed upon William Fitz-Baderon, one of the Conqueror's followers, who, from that circumstance, assumed the name of William de Monmouth. The celebrated John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, resided for some time in the castle; which was also the birthplace of Henry V., who passed his infancy here, and whose cradle, and the sword which he used at the battle of Agincourt, are deposited in Troy House, belonging to the Duke of Beaufort, at a short distance on the road to Chepstow. The town is beautifully situated on the banks of the river Wye, near its confluence with the Monnow, in a luxuriant vale, environed by hills of various elevation, some of them being richly crowned with wood, and consists of one spacious street extending from the market-place to the river Monnow, over which is an ancient stone bridge with an arched gateway, erected in 1272, forming an entrance from the Abergavenny road, and of several other streets diverging in different directions to the river Wye, over which is also a handsome stone bridge. The houses are in general well built; many of those in the principal street have gardens and orchards attached to them, and in various parts of the town are ancient buildings interspersed with handsome modern houses; the streets on the side towards the Wye contain several ranges of respectable buildings: the town is well paved and lighted, and amply supplied with water from springs, and with soft water, for culinary purposes, by carts which convey it to the houses of the inhabitants at a moderate charge. The public library is well furnished with modern works; and assemblies are held occasionally at the Beaufort Arms and at the town hall. Chippenham meadow, an extensive plot of ground, forms a delightful promenade on the bank of the Wye, and is intersected by the river Monnow, which empties itself into that river: races are annually held in October, and are well attended. On the opposite side of the river, and on the acclivities of the hills which rise from its banks, numerous picturesque and beautiful villas are irregularly scattered at different elevations: on the Kymin, a lofty hill commanding an extensive view of the windings of the river through a finely varied tract of country, and of the town lying at its base, a marine pavilion has been erected in honour of the distinguished Lord Nelson, and other naval heroes, whose achievements are recorded by paintings and inscriptions. Beaulieu Grove is a rich wood, through which many pleasing walks have been made, commanding in different points of view agreeable prospects of the scenery in the neighbourhood. The steep banks of the Wye, clothed in many places with the most luxuriant verdure, are rich in every variety of beauty; and the windings of the river lead through a succession of scenes not surpassed by any of like character in the country. The beauty of the landscape, the mildness of the air, and its peculiar adaptation as a place of retirement, have made it the retreat of many respectable families, who have erected on the shores of the river, and on the heights which crown its banks, numerous handsome villas. The trade principally arises from the navigation of the river Wye, in the traffic carried on with Hereford and Bristol; and the preparation of bark from the forests of the Upper Wye, of which a great quantity is sent to Chepstow for exportation to the south of England and different parts of Ireland, and in which a considerable number of men, women, and children, are employed. The iron and tin manufactures were introduced into this kingdom, and established at Monmouth, by a native of Switzerland, and are now carried on to a considerable extent: the town is well supplied with coal from the neighbouring Forest of Dean, from which a rail-road has been constructed, passing through Coleford and Newland. Paper is largely manufactured at mills situated on streams near the town, and there are also several corn-mills. The market, which is well supplied, is on Saturday, and a market is held on the first Wednesday in each month, for the sale of cattle, sheep, and pigs: the fairs are on Whit-Tuesday, for toys; the Wednesday before the 20th of June, for wool and cheese; and September 4th, and November 22d, for cattle, hops, and cheese. The inhabitants were first incorporated by Edward VI., who confirmed the preceding privileges granted by Henry VIII., which were afterwards extended by Charles II., by whose charter the government is vested in a mayor, recorder, two bailiffs, and fifteen common council-men, assisted by a town clerk, chamberlain, coroner, two serjeants at mace, and subordinate officers. The corporation hold quarterly courts of session for the trial of misdemeanants within the borough. The assizes for the county, and the petty sessions for the upper division of the hundred of Usk, are held here. The town is within the duchy of Lancaster, and subject to the jurisdiction of the duchy courts. The town hall is a substantial stone structure on piazzas, and ornamented with a statue of Henry V.: the lower part is appropriated to the use of the market, and the upper part contains the court-rooms for the assizes and the sessions, and a spacious assembly-room. The county gaol and house of correction is a spacious stone building in the form of a castle, on the road to Hereford, and contains forty-one cells, ten day-rooms, and seven airing-yards, in one of which is a tread-wheel, for the classification of prisoners. The borough first exercised the elective franchise in the 27th of Henry VIII., in conjunction with those of Usk and Newport: it returns one member to parliament. The right of election is vested in the resident burgesses of these several boroughs, the number of whom is about eight hundred, chiefly in the interest of the Duke of Beaufort: the mayor and bailiffs are the returning officers. The election of knights for the shire also takes place in Monmouth, as the county town. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Hereford, rated in the king's books at £9. 2. 3., endowed with £200 private benefaction, £200 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Duke of Beaufort. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was anciently the conventual church of a Benedictine priory, founded here in the reign of Henry II., the revenue of which at the dissolution was £56. 1. 11. The body of the church has been rebuilt in the modern style, and the only part remaining of the original building is the tower, surmounted by an elegant and finely-proportioned spire, in the early style of English architecture, two hundred and ten feet high, and forming an interesting feature in the view of the town. St. Thomas, a chapel of ease to the vicarage, is an ancient edifice with a low tower, exhibiting good specimens of the early English and the Norman styles, with some portions of an earlier period; it is supposed to have been founded prior to the Conquest, and is now undergoing repair, on the completion of which it is proposed to assign to it a district, under the authority of the commissioners for building new churches. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists, and a Roman Catholic chapel. The free grammar school was founded in the reign of James I., by William Jones, a native of Newland in this vicinity, and citizen and haberdasher of London, who bequeathed £9000 for the endowment of a school and almshouse, and for the establishment of a lectureship in the church: the school is open to all children of the neighbourhood, with preference to those of this parish, for instruction in the Latin and Greek languages: the premises, near Wye bridge, are handsomely built, comprising houses for the master, who has a salary of £120 per annum, the usher, who has £60, and the lecturer, whose stipend is £140 per annum. The English language, writing, arithmetic, and the mathematics, are taught by an additional master, recently appointed, with a salary of £60 per annum. The almshouses consist of twenty separate tenements, with a garden to each, for twenty aged men and women, who have a weekly allowance of six shillings each, with a supply of coal and clothing: the school and almshouses are under the direction of the corporation and the Haberdashers' Company. A National school, supported by subscription, and in which nearly one hundred boys and upwards of ninety girls are instructed, is kept in an ancient room, with a fine oriel window, part of the priory of Benedictine monks, said to have been the study of the celebrated Geoffrey of Monmouth, a native of this town, who resided many years in that convent. Of the hospitals of the Holy Trinity and St. John, founded here, in the early part of the thirteenth century, by Wihenoc de Monemue, there are no remains. At the distance of a mile from the town, on the road to Staunton, is a rocking-stone of very large dimensions, called the Buck stone: it is twenty-four feet high, fifty-seven feet in circumference at the upper surface, and three inches and one-sixth at the base; and near it is a flight of nine steps, above which is a large stone, having the appearance of a baptismal font, with a cavity for holding water; they are supposed to be Druidical remains. Monmouth formerly gave the title of duke to James, natural son of Charles II. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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