Monmouth is a
townA town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in southeast
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and traditional
county townA county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of the historic county of
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. It is situated close to the border with
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where the
River MonnowThe River Monnow flows through south-west Herefordshire, England and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales.- Border River :For much of its short length it marks the border between England and Wales before it joins the River Wye at Monmouth. The Wye is also half English from Monmouth until it meets the...
meets the
River WyeThe River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
with bridges over both.
Monmouth is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with
CarbonneCarbonne is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Geography:The A64 autoroute passes near the village, and there is a train station of the railway Toulouse - Bayonne....
,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and
WaldbronnWaldbronn is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the northern Black Forest, 11 km southeast of Karlsruhe.-Geography:...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Etymology
The name Monmouth is an
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
contraction of 'Monnow-mouth'. The Welsh name for the river,
Mynwy, which may originally have meant "fast-flowing", was
anglicisedAnglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
as
MonnowThe River Monnow flows through south-west Herefordshire, England and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales.- Border River :For much of its short length it marks the border between England and Wales before it joins the River Wye at Monmouth. The Wye is also half English from Monmouth until it meets the...
. The town was originally known in Welsh as
Abermynwy ("mouth of the Monnow"), replaced by
Trefynwy ("Monnow town" - the initial
m of
Mynwy mutatingIn linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" . Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically...
in Welsh to
f) by the 17th century. The name is pronounced by those who live in the area as 'Mon-muth'; in most of Wales it is pronounced as 'Mun-muth'.
Character
The medieval 13th century stone gated
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
at
Monnow BridgeMonnow Bridge in Monmouth, Wales, is the only remaining mediæval fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower still standing in place. It crosses the River Monnow just above its confluence with the River Wye.- 13th-century bridge :...
is unique in Britain being the only preserved bridge of its design remaining. There is also a long bridge over the
River WyeThe River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
rebuilt in 1617 and widened later. A feasibility study was made in 1999 by world-famous engineers
Ove Arup and PartnersSir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...
(who led the engineering design of
Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
) for a new bridge further along from the Monnow bridge, but the scheme came to nothing and instead a more neutral bridge crossing was built, opening on March 15, 2004, thus allowing the old bridge to become pedestrianised. This project has meant the demolition of the old cattle
marketA market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
.
History
Excavations undertaken by the Monmouth Archaeological Society on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered a wealth of information about the early history of the town. Indeed, the
Council for British ArchaeologyEstablished in 1944, the is an educational charity working throughout the UK to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations...
have designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology.
Roman times
Monmouth as an organised settlement dates back to the times of the
Roman occupation of BritainRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
and the conquest of Wales. The Romans called it
BlestiumBlestium was a small town and probable fort in Roman Wales within the Roman province of Britannia Superior, part of Roman Britain...
, and it was part of a network of Roman forts covering the region, linked via
Roman roadThe Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
s to
AbergavennyAbergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
or
GobanniumGobannium was a Roman fort and civil settlement or Castra established by the Roman legions invading what was to become Roman Wales and lies today under the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire in south east Wales.- Documentary evidence :...
,
UskUsk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
known as
BurriumBurrium was a legionary fortress in the Roman province of Britannia Superior or Roman Britain.Its remains today lie beneath the town of Usk in Monmouthshire....
, later
Isca AugustaIsca Augusta was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.-Name:...
at
CaerleonCaerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
and
GlevumGlevum was a Roman fort in Roman Britain that become "colonia" of retired legionaries in AD 97. Today it is known as Gloucester, located in the English county of Gloucestershire...
at
GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. Archaeologists and historians have found items of Roman pottery and
Roman currencyThe Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
from that period.
Middle Ages
The town appears in the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, and for the 11th and 12th centuries the town and surrounding areas were ruled by
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
French lords after the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. During this time,
Monmouth CastleMonmouth Castle is a castle site in the town of Monmouth, county town of Monmouthshire, south east Wales.- Location :Monmouth Castle is located close to the centre of Monmouth town on a hill towering over the River Monnow, behind shops and the main square and streets...
was built, in 1067 under William Fitz-Osbern of
Breteuil Breteuil is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:...
,
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, a significant castle builder, holding commanding views over the surrounding area from a sound defensive site. Initially it would have been a motte and bailey
castleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, rebuilt in stone and later refortified and developed over time.
A
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
prioryA priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
was also created in 1101, and it was traditionally there that
Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
- author of the
Historia Regum BritanniaeThe Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
(
History of the Kings of Britain) - gained his education. A fortified bridge was built during the 13th century.
The Battle of Monmouth was fought in 1233 between the rebel forces of
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of PembrokeRichard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke was the brother of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the Earldom of Pembroke and Lord Marshal of England upon his brother's death on 6 April 1231....
, and a royalist force under John of Monmouth. The rebels carried the day and St Thomas' Church and Monnow Bridge were torched in the battle, which according to Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust records took place beside the
River MonnowThe River Monnow flows through south-west Herefordshire, England and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales.- Border River :For much of its short length it marks the border between England and Wales before it joins the River Wye at Monmouth. The Wye is also half English from Monmouth until it meets the...
on Castle Field, land today known as Vauxhall Fields. The battle was immortalised by an illustration by 13th century historian
Matthew ParisMatthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
, which shows Richard Marshal unhorsing Baldwin of Guisnes. The original is owned by
Corpus Christi College, CambridgeCorpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
.
The
castleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
came into the possession of the
House of LancasterThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
through the marriage of John of Gaunt to Blanche, a Monmouth based heiress. John of Gaunt strengthened the castle, adding the Great Hall.
In 1387,
Henry VHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
was born in
Monmouth CastleMonmouth Castle is a castle site in the town of Monmouth, county town of Monmouthshire, south east Wales.- Location :Monmouth Castle is located close to the centre of Monmouth town on a hill towering over the River Monnow, behind shops and the main square and streets...
in the Queen's Chamber within the gatehouse. The castle became a favourite residence of the House of Lancaster. Henry would win the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
in 1415. Many parts of Monmouth, including the town's main square, are named after this battle.
During the rebellion of
Owain GlyndwrOwain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
between 1400 and 1412 Monmouth Castle and
walled townA defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
was not attacked by Welsh forces, however skirmishes and battles were fought in the area, such as at Battle of Campston Hill when Prince Henry's men followed a retreating force of Glyndwr's, capturing the Welsh standard and killing the standard bearer, Ellis ap Richard ap Howell ap Morgan Llwyd. Other battles took place at nearby at Craig-y-Dorth, at
GrosmontGrosmont is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales near Abergavenny.- History :Grosmont Castle is a major feature of the village and was the birthplace of Henry, 1st Duke of Lancaster. St...
and
UskUsk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
, such as the
Battle of Pwll MelynThe Battle of Pwll Melyn, also known as the Battle of Usk, was part of the Welsh War of Independence against English rule that lasted from 1400 to 1415. This key battle in the Glyndŵr Rising occurred in the spring of 1405. The defeat of the Welsh rebels here was devastating and included the loss of...
. Grosmont town was razed and
AbergavennyAbergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
and
CrickhowellCrickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...
attacked.
Post medieval times
In 1605,
James IJames VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
granted Monmouth a town charter by
letters patentLetters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
. The granting of the charter included the charge that the town "at all perpetual future times ... be and remain a town and borough of Peace and Quiet, to the example and terror of the wicked and reward of the good".
The layout of the town as depicted in Speede's map of 1610 would be easily recognisable to present day inhabitants, with the layout of the main axis from the castle via the main street, Monnow Street, to the bridge clearly visible. Monnow Street is a typical market street, in being wide in the middle (for those selling) and narrow at each end (to help prevent the livestock escaping).
In 1840 at Monmouth's Shire Hall,
ChartistChartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
protestors
John FrostJohn Frost was a prominent Welsh leader of the British Chartist movement in the Newport Rising....
,
Zephaniah WilliamsZephaniah Williams was born near Argoed, Sirhowy Valley, Monmouthshire, with much of his childhood spent near the then village of Blackwood, also living for some periods in Caerphilly and Nantyglo...
and
William JonesWilliam Jones was a political Radical and Chartist, who was a former actor, working as a watchmaker at Pontypool in Monmouthshire and was also keeping a beer house....
became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be
hanged, drawn and quarteredTo be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
after being found guilty of
treasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
following
riots in NewportThe Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain, when on 4 November 1839, somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 Chartist sympathisers, including many coal-miners, most with home-made arms, led by John Frost, marched on the town of Newport,...
that led to 20 deaths. The sentences were later commuted to
transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Four railways were built to serve Monmouth between 1857 and 1883; the
Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool RailwayThe Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Monmouth to Pontypool. It was opened in 1857, passenger services were withdrawn in 1955...
, the
Ross and Monmouth RailwayThe Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth....
, the
Wye Valley RailwayThe Wye Valley Railway was a standard gauge railway that ran for nearly between Chepstow and Monmouth along the lower part of the scenic Wye Valley in Monmouthshire, Wales, and Gloucestershire, England. It followed the route of the River Wye for most of its length...
, and the
Coleford RailwayThe Coleford Railway also known as the Coleford Branch, was a short-lived standard gauge railway line which ran for approximately between Monmouth and Coleford. It was constructed in the 1880s, opened on 1 September 1883 and closed on 1 January 1917...
. All of these closed between 1917 and 1964, since when Monmouth has been without rail services. One of the former lines has now been replaced by a major road, built along the same route. Monmouth's main railway station, known as
Monmouth TroyMonmouth Troy was one of the two former stations at Monmouth. It was built in 1857 by the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway and was used by several other branch lines as the local rail network expanded...
, was a coal distribution depot and a base for heavy goods vehicles for many years after its closure as a part of the rail network, but the building has now been dismantled and re-erected at
Winchcombe railway stationWinchcombe railway station serves Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, England, although it is actually located in the village of Greet. It is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked and and which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906...
on the
Gloucestershire Warwickshire RailwayThe Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
. The other station at Monmouth was
Monmouth May HillMonmouth Mayhill railway station is a disused railway station on the Ross and Monmouth Railway, it was opened in 1873 and closed in 1959. It was one of two stations that served the town of Monmouth in Wales and was situated on the opposite bank of the river River Wye from Monmouth...
on the
Ross and Monmouth RailwayThe Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth....
, built on the opposite bank of the
River WyeThe River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
to the town centre. This operated for many years as Monmouth Sawmills and Gas Works after its closure as part of the rail network.
Education
Apart from Monmouth Comprehensive School, with over 1,600 pupils, there are two
independent schoolAn independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
s -
Monmouth SchoolMonmouth School is an HMC boys' boarding and day school in Monmouth, Monmouthshire in south east Wales. It was founded in 1614 by William Jones. It is run as a trust, the William Jones's Schools Foundation, by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Livery Companies...
(founded 1614) and
Haberdashers' Monmouth School for GirlsHaberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls is an independent school in Monmouth, Wales. The school was established by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892, and continues to enjoy their support. There are four houses - Imbert Terry , Mather Jackson , Bagnall Oakely , and Prosser...
(founded 1892). Secondary students wishing to learn through the medium of Welsh are bused to
Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw' is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school located in Trevethin, Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales and named for Saint Gwynllyw.- History :The school was founded in 1988 as the first Welsh-medium school in the former Gwent LEA area and is housed in accommodation previously used for Trevethin Comprehensive...
in
PontypoolPontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
. There are several state primary schools, with most areas served by both
infants'An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
and
juniors'A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
schools.
Welsh medium primary educationEducation delivered through the medium of the Welsh language is known as Welsh medium education .Welsh medium education should be distinguished from the teaching of Welsh as an academic subject. Welsh as a subject is taught as first language in Welsh medium schools...
for the town is provided by
Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni. There is a Welsh-language parent-and-toddler group - "Cylchoedd Ti a Fi" Trefynwy - which operates under the umbrella of
Mudiad Ysgolion MeithrinMudiad Ysgolion Meithrin is a movement for the formation and support of Welsh Medium Nursery groups. These voluntary groups are often crucial in the subsequent establishment of a Welsh Medium primary school in the area. The movement is particularly active in anglicized areas of Wales and has had...
.
Coleg GwentColeg Gwent is Wales' largest further education college.It has more than 35,000 students ranging from secondary school leavers to mature students...
offers short course at their "Learn IT Centre."
Annual events
The annual
Monmouth ShowThe Monmouth Show is the largest one-day agricultural show in Wales, taking place annually in Monmouth.- Origins in 1790s :The origins of the show date back to the 1790s when the town's agricultural society organised ploughing matches. Another landmark event was on May 30th, 1857, when the eighth...
has been held each year (traditionally on the last Thursday of August) since 1919 (when it was called the Monmouthshire County Show), though its history can be traced to 30 May 1857 when the 8th
Duke of BeaufortDuke of Beaufort is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the...
and Sir Charles Morgan M.P. put up the funds for a Monmouth Cattle Show. Prior to that there had been an agricultural society in the town dating back to the 1790s, which held ploughing competitions.
Every year is also the well known, Monmouth Music Festival and the St David's Foundation raft race. A regular market takes place at the bottom of town.
Tourism
Monmouth is a market town located at the confluence of three rivers – the Trothy, Monnow and (more famously) the river Wye. The town overlooks the hills of Abergavenny, Hay Bluff and the Brecon Beacons. It is in close proximity of the Royal Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.
Tourist attractions include the Monmouth Castle, the free entry Nelson museum and Shire Hall - a visitors centre and tourist office. The Savoy Theatre on Church Street, built on the site of the oldest such building in Wales, functions as both a cinema and theatre.
The Blake Theatre is home to a variety of concerts and dramatic productions. Monnow Bridge can be seen looking down through the town. The buildings and their designs along the high street are very varied, depicting development throughout the eras.
Business
The town has many independent cafes and restaurants. The high street has a mixture of shops including well known high street names. Church Street, also known as Monmouth Old Town is a cobbled street offering many services and is home to the locally renowned fruit seller, Munday & Jones. Notable is the amount of Supermarkets; Cooperative Food,
Marks & SpencerMarks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
Food,
WaitroseWaitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
,
Iceland FoodsIceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
,
LidlLidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
and soon to be One Stop. Banks also feature heavily in the town with nearly every major bank having business there. Presently, it is the only town within the region not to have some form of nightclub or predominant music venue.
Public houses
There are numerous
public houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s in the centre of Monmouth, including the Old Nags Head, the
Queen's Head, the Punch House, the Griffin, the Gloucester, the Vinetree, the King's Head (Wetherspoon), the Three Horseshoes, the Green Dragon and the Gatehouse.
Notable people
- See also :Category:People from Monmouth
- See also :Category:People from Monmouthshire
People associated with Monmouth include:
- Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
, the OxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
-based cleric, born in 1090 and believed to be originally from the area, wrote Historia Regum BritanniaeThe Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
, the "History of British Kings".
- Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Guardian of England, died at Monmouth Castle
Monmouth Castle is a castle site in the town of Monmouth, county town of Monmouthshire, south east Wales.- Location :Monmouth Castle is located close to the centre of Monmouth town on a hill towering over the River Monnow, behind shops and the main square and streets...
on December 7, 1295.
- Henry III
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
's second son Edmund Crouchback, the 1st Earl of Lancaster, added the Great Hall to house the royal courts at Monmouth CastleMonmouth Castle is a castle site in the town of Monmouth, county town of Monmouthshire, south east Wales.- Location :Monmouth Castle is located close to the centre of Monmouth town on a hill towering over the River Monnow, behind shops and the main square and streets...
after being granted possession by his father, who also named him Steward of EnglandThe position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, but not invariably, the Lord...
.
- King Edward II
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
was briefly imprisoned at Monmouth Castle in 1326 after being overthrown by his wife IsabellaIsabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
and her lover Roger MortimerRoger de Mortimer was a medieval marcher lord, residing at Wigmore Castle in the English county of Herefordshire.He was the son of Hugh de Mortimer and Matilda Le Meschin. He was born before 1153.-Early life:...
, the Earl of March.
- Monmouth Castle was a favourite residence of Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, who seized the throne from Richard IIRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
in 1399.
- Henry IV's son, the future Henry V
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
and victor at the battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
over the French in 1415, was born in Monmouth CastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in 1387 and brought up at Courtfield in nearby LydbrookLydbrook is a civil parish in the Forest of Dean, a local government district in the English county of Gloucestershire. It comprises the districts of Lower Lydbrook, Upper Lydbrook, and Joys Green.-Introduction:...
.
- William Jones, a liveryman of Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation, following on from the Mercers' Company, another Livery Company connected with clothing and haberdashery, received a Royal Charter in 1448...
from nearby Newland-Places:Australia* Electoral district of Newland, a state electoral district in South Australia* Lake Newland Conservation Park, South AustraliaFinland* Uusimaa, a region in Finland, literally meaning "Newland"United Kingdom...
, founded the first of the town's grammar schools in 1614.
- Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
visited Monmouth on his way to retake Chepstow CastleChepstow Castle , located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire in Wales, on top of cliffs overlooking the River Wye, is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain...
and lay siege to Pembroke CastlePembroke Castle is a medieval castle in Pembroke, West Wales. Standing beside the River Cleddau, it underwent major restoration work in the early 20th century. The castle was the original seat of the Earldom of Pembroke....
in 1648 during the Second Civil WarThe Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
.
- Philip Evans
Saints Philip Evans and John Lloyd were Welsh Roman Catholic priests, who died for their faith. They are both among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Father Philip Evans:...
, Jesuit priest and martyr, was born in the town and based at the nearby Catholic seminary at the Cwmcwm may refer to* the geographical term for a rounded, glaciated valley also known as a corrie or cirque* the Welsh word for a valley, sometimes anglicized to Coombe* cwm , a general-purpose data processor for the semantic web...
, Llanrothal.
- James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
, leader of the Monmouth RebellionThe Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
of 1685.
- John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
, the first governor of Upper Canada and the founder of Toronto, lived at the Old Court in nearby WhitchurchWhitchurch is a village in Herefordshire named after the church of Saint Dubricius which was originally white in colour.Whitchurch is situated on the A40, connecting nearby Ross-on-Wye to Welsh town Monmouth...
.
- Poets William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Samuel Coleridge, Alexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
, Thomas GrayThomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
and Robert SoutheyRobert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
all visited and were inspired by the Wye ValleyThe Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain....
, as was landscape painter JMW Turner.
- Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
paid two visits to the town and approved a naval temple on the nearby Kymin Hill. The Nelson Museum, Monmouth is home to one of the largest collections of Nelson material, bequeathed to the town by Lady Llangattock (d. 1923), mother of Charles Rolls.
- Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
hero Corporal William Wilson AllenWilliam Wilson Allen, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was about 35...
is buried at Monmouth Cemetery.
- HMS Monmouth
The sixth HMS Monmouth of the British Royal Navy was the lead ship of a class of armoured cruisers of 9,800 tons displacement. She was sunk at the Battle of Coronel in 1914....
was sunk with all hands on November 1, 1914, by German cruisers SMS ScharnhorstSMS Scharnhorst was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of her class, which also included her sister . Scharnhorst and her sister were enlarged versions of the preceding ; they were equipped with a greater...
and SMS GneisenauSMS Gneisenau was an armored cruiser of the German navy, part of the two-ship . She was named after August von Gneisenau, a Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was laid down in 1904 at the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and completed in March 1908, at a cost of...
off the Chilean CoastChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
at the Battle of CoronelThe First World War naval Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher...
. St Mary's Church, Monmouth, contains a memorial to the men who lost their lives and the church hosts an annual service in remembrance. Seven Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships have been named after the Welsh town, including a Type 23 frigate launched in 1991 which is still in operation.
- Charles Rolls
Charles Stewart Rolls was a motoring and aviation pioneer. Together with Frederick Henry Royce he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in a flying accident, when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display near Bournemouth,...
, who lived at The HendreThe Hendre is Monmouthshire's only full-scale Victorian country house, constructed in the Victorian Gothic style...
near Monmouth and was co-founder of the Rolls-Royce company, was the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
by plane. There is a statue of Charles Rolls in Agincourt Square.
- Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, rock musician, lives in the town. He was instrumental in the conception of Rockfield StudiosRockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
, situated just outside the town, where the band QueenQueen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
recorded their hit single Bohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
, as did OasisOasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
their multi-million selling album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 October 1995 through Creation Records. The album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK and number four in the U.S...
in 1995.
- Jake Thackray
John Philip "Jake" Thackray , was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling,...
, poet and singer-songwriter, lived in Monmouth for more than 20 years before his death in 2002.
- Peter Thorneycroft
George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft CH, PC , was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958.-Biography:...
was MP for Monmouth between 1945 and 1966, He was President of the Board of Trade under Prime Minister Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and then Chancellor of the Exchequer under Harold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. He became Baron Thorneycroft of Dunston and was made Chairman of the Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
during the early leadership of Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
from 1975-1981.
- Among ex-pupils of Monmouth School
Monmouth School is an HMC boys' boarding and day school in Monmouth, Monmouthshire in south east Wales. It was founded in 1614 by William Jones. It is run as a trust, the William Jones's Schools Foundation, by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Livery Companies...
are politicians The Lord Moynihan, Cliff TuckerClifford Lewis Tucker was a British industrial relations executive, magistrate and politician.He was educated at Monmouth School and St David's College, Lampeter...
and Derek Ezra, Baron EzraDerek Ezra, Baron Ezra MBE is a Liberal Democrat life peer in the United Kingdom House of Lords and former chairman of the National Coal Board...
, international rugby players Eddie ButlerEdward Thomas "Eddie" Butler is a journalist, sports commentator, and former Welsh Rugby Union player, who won 16 caps for the team between 1980 and 1984 and scored 2 tries. Butler was educated at Monmouth School and Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge...
, John GwilliamJohn Albert Gwilliam was a Welsh rugby union 'No 8' who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Cambridge University, Edinburgh Wanderers, Gloucester, Newport, London Welsh, Llanelli and Wasps...
, Tony JordanTony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
, Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett was a Welsh international rugby centre who played union for Newport and league with Barrow. Jarrett is most notable for his early appearances for the Wales national rugby union team where he set point scoring records...
and Richard ParksRichard David Parks is a former Wales international rugby union player, representing Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC, Celtic Warriors, Leeds Tykes, Perpignan and Newport Gwent Dragons at club and regional level. In May 2009 he was forced to retire from rugby due to a shoulder injury...
, international rugby referee Wayne BarnesWayne Barnes is an English international rugby union referee. He was educated at Whitecross School in Lydney, where he was head boy, Monmouth School and at the University of East Anglia. He became a professional referee in April 2005, giving up a career in law to do so...
, equestrian David BroomeDavid McPherson Broome CBE is a retired Welsh show jumping champion.Broome was born in Wales, attended Monmouth School and still maintains his stables at Mount Ballan Manor, Crick, near Chepstow in Monmouthshire...
, champion racehorse trainer Major Dick Hern, Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve JamesStephen Peter James is a former English cricketer who played two Tests for England in 1998, making 71 runs in four innings. He was captain of Glamorgan for three seasons before retiring in 2003 after 17 seasons with the club, aged 35...
, pre-war Glamorgan captain Trevor Arnott (buried at Dixton Church), poet Paul GrovesPaul Groves is an English former footballer who notably captained and managed Grimsby Town. He was naturally a central midfield player, but later in his career was used as a central defender...
, 'Allo 'Allo!'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
actor Richard MarnerRichard Marner, born Alexander Molchanoff was a Russian-born British actor. He was probably best known for his role as Colonel Kurt Von Strohm in the British sitcom Allo 'Allo!.-Early life:...
, actor and raconteur Victor SpinettiVictor Spinetti is a Welsh comic actor.-Early life:Spinetti was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales of Welsh and Italian heritage from a grandfather who was said to have walked from Italy to Wales to work as a coal miner...
, TV presenter Glyn WorsnipGlyn Worsnip was a British radio and television presenter. Born in Highnam, Gloucestershire, he was most famous for his appearances on That's Life! and on Nationwide.He attended Monmouth School and after two years service in the RAF as a Photographic Intelligence Officer he graduated...
, TV doctor Mark PorterMark Porter, MBE is a GP and medical correspondent for The Times. He also has a weekly programme on Radio 4 called Case Notes and joined The One Show on BBC One in 2011....
, BBC Wales TV presenters Phil Parry and Roger Pinney, rock musician Grant NicholasGrant Nicholas is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band Feeder, along with bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Karl Brazil.-Early years:...
, Moscow Olympics bronze-medal rower Charlie Wiggin, Beijing Olympics silver-medal rower Tom LucyThomas David Lucy is a Welsh international rower from Llangovan near Monmouth. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Great Britain in the Mens eight....
, and 11-time CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
Boat Race coach and world silver-medal rower Robin Williams. A former pupil who found notoriety was John VassallWilliam John Christopher Vassall was a British civil servant who, under pressure of blackmail, spied for the Soviet Union....
, naval attache to the British Embassy in Moscow, who was jailed for 18 years in 1962 for spying for the Russians.
- Music conductor and author Jane Glover
Jane Glover CBE is a British-born conductor and music scholar.-Early life:Glover attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover MA TD,was headmaster of Monmouth School and it was through this connection that she was able to meet Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears...
attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for GirlsHaberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls is an independent school in Monmouth, Wales. The school was established by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892, and continues to enjoy their support. There are four houses - Imbert Terry , Mather Jackson , Bagnall Oakely , and Prosser...
. Other former pupils include TV news correspondent Charlotte Hume, BBC Wales TV presenter Frances Donovan, former CasualtyCasualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
actress Sandra HuggettSandra Huggett is a British actress.She grew up in Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, but now lives in North London. Her father is professional golfer, Brian Huggett. She attended both Haberdashers Monmouth School For Girls & Mountview Theatre School...
, TV presenter Lisa RogersLisa Rogers is a Welsh television presenter and occasional actress. She has appeared in films, television programmes, theatre and radio.-Early life:...
, actress Zoie KennedyZoie Kennedy is an English television and theatre actress. Her first known TV appearance was as a WPC in The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. Shortly after this followed the role of news reporter Polly Grantham in Emmerdale and Staff Nurse Meryl Taylor in ITV's The Royal from 2002-2006...
, harpist Jemima Phillips-Biography:Born in North London, her father Robert was an arboriculturist in the London Borough of Camden, and her mother, Jenny, an actress who starred in Steptoe and Son and was once in a film with Ronnie Barker...
and former Liberal MP and head of the RSPCA Jackie BallardJacqueline Margaret Ballard has been a politician and journalist in the United Kingdom. She was the Director General of the RSPCA, and took up post as CEO of the RNID on 22 October 2007....
.
- Wales and British Lions rugby player John Bevan, who played in the legendary 23-11 Barbarians defeat of the All Blacks in 1973, is the Monmouth School rugby master. Former school cricket coach Graham Burgess
Graham K. Burgess is an English FIDE Master of chess and a noted writer and trainer. He became a FIDE Master at the age of twenty. He attended Birkdale High School in Southport, Merseyside. In 1989 he graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in mathematics...
played 14 seasons for Somerset and was a county umpire until retiring at the end of the 2008 season.
- Emma Stansfield
Emma Stansfield is a Welsh actress.Born Emma Thompson, her parents Colin and Gill Thompson trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and run an amateur dramatics society in Monmouth, Wales...
, British actress who played Ronnie Clayton in Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
from 2005 to 2006, is from the town.
- Historian and TV presenter Professor Saul David
Julian Saul David, known popularly as Saul David, was born in 1966 in Monmouth, Wales and is an academic military historian and broadcaster. He is best known for his work on the Indian Mutiny and the Anglo-Zulu War, as well as for presenting and appearing in documentaries on British television...
is from Welsh NewtonWelsh Newton is a small village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England. It is located close to the border with Wales to which the parish extends....
and was educated at Monmouth Comprehensive School.
- Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
of Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
had a house, Argoed, in PenalltPenallt is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales set high on a hill above Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, is the 17th century village pub, the "Inn at Penallt", formerly called the Bush Inn....
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The house had previously been owned by the MP Richard Potter, the father of socialist reformer Beatrice WebbMartha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
. She and her husband, socialist reformer Sidney Webb, would often stay at the house, and were occasionally visited by their friend, the playwright George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
.
- Comedian Ken Goodwin
Ken Goodwin is an English comedian best known for his performances on the ITV Television show The Comedians.His performance style is nervous and stuttering...
and astrologer Russell GrantRussell John Dammerall Grant is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on Astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service...
also lived in the area for a number of years.
External links