Caerleon

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Caerleon

Caerleon is a suburban village and community

Community (Wales)

A community is the lowest level of Local Government in the United Kingdom structure in Wales, corresponding to a civil parish in England.Until 1974, Wales was divided into civil parishes....
, situated on the River Usk

River Usk

Newport

Newport is a City status in the United Kingdom and Administrative divisions of Wales in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, located roughly between Cardiff and Bristol, it is the cultural capital and largest urban area in the Historic counties of Wales of Monmouthshire and is governed by the unitary authori...
, South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west....
.

It is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
legionary fortress

Castra

The Latin language word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position....
and an Iron Age

Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is type of fortification refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages....
. It also has strong literary associations as Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was a clergyman and one of the major figures in the English historians in the Middle Ages and the popularity of tales of King Arthur....
makes Caerleon one of the most important cities in Britain in his Historia Regum Britanniæ, and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote Idylls of the King
Idylls of the King

File:Idylls of the King 1.jpgIdylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a Literature cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, following the rise and fall of Arthur and...
while staying in Caerleon.

leon is a site of considerable archaeological importance, being the site of a Roman

Roman Empire

Castra

Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
hill fort

Hill fort

Discussion

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Encyclopedia

Caerleon is a suburban village and community

Community (Wales)

River Usk

Newport

South Wales

Roman Empire

Castra

Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
hill fort

Hill fort

Geoffrey of Monmouth

History

Roman fortress

Caerleon is a site of considerable archaeological importance, being the site of a Roman

Roman Empire

Castra

Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
hill fort

Hill fort

Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
for "fortress of the legion

Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
"; the Romans

Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
themselves called it Isca. Substantial excavated Roman remains can be seen, including the military amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue for spectator sports, concerts, rallies, or theatrical performances. There are two similar, but distinct types of amphitheatres: Ancient amphitheatres, built by the ancient Rome, were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used for spectator sports; these comp...
, baths or Thermae

Thermae

The terms balnea or thermae were the words the Ancient Rome used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization....
and barracks occupied by the Roman Legion

Roman legion

Gildas

Saint Gildas was a 6th century Britons cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christianity church in the British Isles during the 6th century....
(followed by Bede

Bede

Bede , , was a monasticism at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria....
), Roman Caerleon was the site of two early Christian martyrdoms, that of Julius and Aaron

Julius and Aaron

Saints Julius and Aaron are celebrated as two United Kingdom martyrs who died during the religious persecutions of the Diocletian in AD 304. Their feast day was traditionally celebrated on July 1....
. Recent finds suggest Roman occupation of some kind as late as AD 380 . Roman remains have also been discovered at The Mynde, itself a distinctive historical site

Middle Ages

The parish church

Parish church

A parish church, in Christianity, is the local church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopalian church governance churches....
of St Cadoc

Cadoc

Saint Cadoc or Cadog , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century Religion in Wales, whose vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning....
was founded on the site of the legionary headquarters building probably sometime in the 6th century. A Norman

Norman architecture

The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries....
-style motte and bailey castle

Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
was built outside the eastern corner of the old Roman fort, probably by the Welsh Lord of Caerleon, Caradog ap Gruffydd

Caradog ap Gruffydd

Caradog ap Gruffydd was a Prince of Kingdom of Gwent in south-east Wales who made repeated attempts to gain power over all of southern Wales by seizing the Kingdom of Deheubarth....
. Caerleon was an important market and port and presumably became a borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
by 1171, although no independent charters exist. Both castle and borough were seized by William Marshal in 1217 and the castle was rebuilt in stone. The remains of many of the old Roman buildings stood to some height until this time and were probably demolished for their building materials.

Georgian and Victorian times

The old wooden bridge at Caerleon

Caerleon Bridge

Caerleon Bridge is a bridge crossing of the River Usk at Caerleon in the city of Newport, United Kingdom.It carries the B4236 road from Caerleon-ultra-Pontem into Caerleon itself....
was destroyed in a storm in 1779 and the present stone version was erected in the early 19th century. Until the Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian Era of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the period of Victoria of the United Kingdom reign from June 1837 to January 1901....
development of the downstream docks at Newport Docks

Newport Docks

Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales....
, Caerleon acted as the major port on the Usk river. The wharf was located on the right bank, to the west of today's river bridge which marked the limit of navigability for masted ships. A tinplate

Tinplate

Tinplate is sheet carbon steel covered with a thin layer of tin. Before the advent of cheap mild steel the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture of tin cans....
works was established on the outskirts of the town around this time and Caerleon expanded to become almost joined to Newport.

Governance

Caerleon is an electoral ward of Newport City Council

Newport City Council

Newport City Council is the governing body for the city of Newport, one of the Local government in Wales within the United Kingdom. It consists of 50 councillors, representing the city's 20 Ward ....
alongside Allt-yr-yn, Alway, Beechwood, Bettws, Langstone, and many notable others.

Geography

The centre of Caerleon sits in the Usk valley and the river forms part of the community's southern boundary. In the northern part of the village, across the railway, the land rises sharply up to Lodge Wood and its hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is type of fortification refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages....
. The community's western boundary is formed by the A4042 road

A4042 road

The A4042 is a trunk road that runs from Abergavenny to Newport in the United Kingdom.It begins on junction of the A40 road and A465 road south of Abergavenny and then travels southwards towards Little Mill north of Pontypool....
and the northern one partly by the Malthouse Road and partly by the River Llwyd

Afon Llwyd

The Afon Llwyd is a small river in South Wales Wales which flows from its source north of Blaenavon, through Abersychan, Pontypool and Cwmbran before flowing into the River Usk at Caerleon, which subsequently flows into the Bristol Channel in Newport....
which flows southwards along the village's eastern side. Across the river, in the region of Penrhos Farm, are two Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
forts. Across the Usk, St Julian's Park, the village of Christchurch

Christchurch, Newport

Christchurch is a hamlet located on the top of Christchurch Hill in the Caerleon ward of the city of Newport, South Wales. The top of the hill awards panoramic views both towards the Bristol Channel in the south and through the River Usk and into the Monmouthshire countryside to the north....
and the upland region around Christchurch Hill as far as the M4 motorway

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with West Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Berkshire, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea....
and the A449 road

A449 road

The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire....
are also within the community. It is also home to a large campus of the University of Wales, Newport

University of Wales, Newport

The University of Wales, Newport is a university in the city of Newport, South Wales in the United Kingdom....
.

Arthurian legend

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Belinus

Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons , as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius....
then making it the location of a metropolitan see, an Archbishopric superior to Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
and York

York

York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire and River Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city status in the United Kingdom is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence....
under Saint Dubricius

Dubricius

Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Britons ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the and evangelist of Ergyng and much of South Wales....
. He was followed by St David who moved the archbishopric to St David's Cathedral

St David's Cathedral

St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales....
. This builds up to its use by Geoffrey as a Court for King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary Britons leader who, according to medieval histories and Romance , led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century....
.

Caerleon is one of the sites most often connected with King Arthur's capital later called Camelot

Camelot

Camelot is the most famous castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century France romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the fabulous Arthurian world....
. There was no Camelot mentioned in the early Arthurian traditions recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was a clergyman and one of the major figures in the English historians in the Middle Ages and the popularity of tales of King Arthur....
, Wace

Wace

Wace was an Anglo-Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy , ending his career as canon of Bayeux.His extant works include:...
, and Layamon

Layamon

Layamon , or Lawman, was a poet of the early 13th century, whose Brut is a history of England in verse written in a form of Middle English, although this is at times bastardized to include more modern Anglo-Norman forms, and at times, deliberately "archaistic" Saxon forms which were quaint even by Anglo-Saxon standards....
. These early Arthurian authors say that Arthur's capital was in Caerleon, and even the later recaster of Arthurian material, Sir Thomas Malory

Thomas Malory

Sir Thomas Malory was an English people writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholarship assumes that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire....
, has Arthur re-crowned at "Carlion". It has been suggested that the still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon is the source of the 'Round-Table

Round Table (Camelot)

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights of the Round Tables congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status....
' element of the tales, and was used for discussion and entertainment. (The "Camelot" reference originates with the French writer of courtly romance, Chrétien de Troyes

Chrétien de Troyes

Chr?tien de Troyes was a France poet and trouv?re who flourished in the late 12th century in poetry. Little is known of his life, but he seems to have been from Troyes, or at least intimately connected with it, and between 1160 and 1172 he served at the court of his patroness Count of Champagne Marie de Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquit...
.)

Geoffrey of Monmouth writes of Caerleon in the mid 12th century:

"For it was located in a delightful spot in Glamorgan

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen Historic counties of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales of Wales. It was originally an early medieval monarchy of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Anglo-Norman as a lordship....
, on the River Usk

River Usk

The River Usk source in the Carmarthen Fans mountains or Fan Brycheiniog of mid-Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park then flows south-east through Brecon , Crickhowell, Abergavenny and the eponymous town of Usk past the Roman legionary fortress of Caerleon, through the heart of Newport city and into the Rive...
, not far from the Severn Sea. Abounding in wealth more than other cities, it was suited for such a ceremony. For the noble river I have named flows along it on one side, upon which the kings and princes who would be coming from overseas could be carried by ship. But on the other side, protected by meadow and woods, it was remarkable for royal palaces, so that it imitated Rome in the golden roofs of its buildings... Famous for so many pleasant features, Caerleon was made ready for the announced feast." (Historia Regum Britanniae

Historia Regum Britanniae

The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistory account of Great Britain history, written c.1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings of Britain in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Troy of Homer's Iliad founding the Brython nation and conti...
"History of the Kings of Britain")

This is only a short part of a description which emphasises the power and wealth of Arthur's court, a description transferred later to Camelot. The huge scale of the ruins along with Caerleon's importance as a urban centre in early mediæval Gwent

Kingdom of Gwent

Gwent was, between about the 6th and 11th centuries, one of the kingdoms or principalities of medi?val Wales, traditionally lying between the rivers River Wye and River Usk in what later became known as the Welsh Marches....
would have inspired stories which Geoffrey expanded on.

Caerleon also has later Arthurian literary associations, as the birthplace of the writer Arthur Machen

Arthur Machen

Arthur Machen was a leading Wales author of the 1890s. He is best known for his influential supernatural fiction, fantasy fiction, and horror fiction....
who often used it as a location in his work. Alfred Lord Tennyson also wrote his Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King

File:Idylls of the King 1.jpgIdylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a Literature cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, following the rise and fall of Arthur and...
overlooking the Usk in a bay window of what is now the saloon bar of the "Hanbury Arms" public house. Today Caerleon has a modern statue of a knight

Knight

File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry....
, "The Hanbury knight", in reflecting inox

INOX

INOX Leisure Limited is the diversification venture of the INOX group into entertainment and is a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd....
by Belgian sculptorThierry Lauwers. , its name echoing that of the pub.

In Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo Order of the British Empire Fellowship of King's College London is an England author, poet, playwright and librettist, best known for his work in children's literature....
's novel Arthur, High King of Britain, Caerleon is the castle where Arthur unknowingly commits incest

Incest

Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo vary with culture and jurisdiction....
with his half-sister Margause, resulting in the conception of his son Mordred, who will later bring about his downfall.

Pubs

The community has a large number of pubs for its size, including The Bell Inn, The Olde Bull, The Ship Inn, The Red Lion, The Goldcroft, The Minstrels Sporting Bar, The White Hart, and just outside Caerleon, The St Julians Inn. The list of pubs also includes the Hanbury Arms and the Drovers Arms. The Hanbury Arms is located on Castle Street, at the side of the River Usk, near the field in which the annual Arts Festival takes place. In 1856 the poet Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets.Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, including "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, break, break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade ", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar"....
lodged at the inn while he wrote his "Morte D'Arthur" (later incorporated into his "Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King

File:Idylls of the King 1.jpgIdylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a Literature cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, following the rise and fall of Arthur and...
)".

The name of the Drovers Arms, located on Goldcroft Common, bears witness to the ancient drovers route on the old road from Malpas

Malpas, Newport

Malpas is an electoral district and coterminous community parish of the city of Newport, South Wales....
. It is thought that the common itself was once the site of a cattle market.

Sport

The Caerleon ward is home to the Celtic Manor Resort

Celtic Manor Resort

The Celtic Manor Resort is a golf-centric hotel and leisure resort in the city of Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom. The Resort is owned by Wales billionaire Terry Matthews and the CEO is Matthews' son Dylan Matthews....
, location of the 2010 Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a golf trophy, donated by Samuel Ryder, which is awarded biennially in an event called the "Ryder Cup Matches" between teams from Europe and the United States of America....
. Caerleon also has a good quality 9-hole municipal golf course and driving range

Driving range

A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available....
, however, during winter months the golf course is prone to flooding due to its situation next to the River Usk.

The association football club Caerleon A.F.C.

Caerleon A.F.C.

Caerleon A.F.C. is an association football club based in the Roman village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the City of Newport. Caerleon have resided in the Welsh Football League First Division for numerous seasons....
are based in Caerleon along with two rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with an oval ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two main codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league....
clubs; Newport High School Old Boys RFC and Caerleon RFC.

Caerleon is also home to one chapter of the Academy of Historical Fencing, a western martial arts group who study and practice the weapons and styles of medieval and renaissance Europe. The club trains on the University Campus and also has two Chapters in Bristol.

Culture and community

Caerleon hosts an arts festival

Arts festival

An arts festival or art fair is a festival that focuses on the visual arts, but which may also focus on other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions....
in July each year which includes tree sculptors from around the world. Many of the sizeable sculptures are retained around Caerleon as a Sculpture park and local landmarks. The arts festival coincides with the Roman military re-enactment in the amphitheatre, demonstrating Roman military armour, Roman infantry tactics and techniques for fighting on foot and Roman cavalry tactics and equipment revealing horseback fighting tactics and also siege engine

Siege engine

A siege engine is a machine that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare....
s such as ballista

Ballista

The ballista , plural ballistae, was a weapon developed from earlier Greek weapons. It relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with Torsion springs instead of a prod, the springs consisting of several loops of twisted skeins....
.

Future plans

It had been proposed that the site of the former Esso garage, near the bridge, will be used for residential development.

Caerleon

History

Roman fortress

Middle Ages

Georgian and Victorian times

Governance

Geography

Arthurian legend

Pubs

Sport

Culture and community

Future plans

See also

Bibliography

External links