- This article is about the town in Monmouthshire. For the similarly named river which runs through the town, see River Usk
The River Usk rises 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...
. For the hamlet in British Columbia, see Usk, British ColumbiaUsk is a hamlet in British Columbia, Canada just off Highway 16 north-east of Terrace on the north bank of the Skeena River. Once famous for berry-growing, a flood in the 1930s destroyed most of the community. A few people still live there now...
. For the German software rating organization, see Unterhaltungssoftware SelbstkontrolleUnterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle or USK, is Germany's software rating organization.- Ratings :...
.
Usk is a small town in
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a larger area.-Historic county:...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, situated 10 miles northeast of
NewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff, and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
.
Usk is noted for its rural setting, tranquil lifestyle and quality of life. It feels more like a
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in...
than a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
. The
River UskThe River Usk rises 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...
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/558875 flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/558894 at the western entrance to the town. A
castleA 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...
above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can usually be crossed on foot in summer even today. Usk won the Large Village award in the 2005
Britain in BloomBritain in Bloom is a horticultural competition in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society since 2002 and is currently sponsored by Shredded...
awards
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/558883.
Amenities
The current population is less than 2,500 and the town is known for its pubs, restaurants and antique shops. The narrow main street (the
A472The A472 is a cross valley link road in South Wales that runs east to west across the old South Wales coalfield from Treharris through Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, Maesycwmmer, Pontllanfraith, Newbridge, Crumlin, Hafodyrynys, Pontypool, Little Mill and Usk....
), has a collection of old houses, restaurants, pubs, shops and businesses, with some premises dating back to the 15th century. The road passes a large and tranquil town square
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/280317.
"Usk Island" is a park named after the small island in the middle of the river. The park is mostly laid to grass, with surrounding woodland. It also has a substantial adventure playground.
The South Wales
GlidingGliding is a recreational activity and competitive sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders using rising air to gain altitude or speed. The word soaring is also used for the sport...
Club is located near
Gwernesney- History and amenities :Gwernesney is set in a rural location close to Usk town. The village church is dedicated to St. Michael & All Angels . The village also has a pub . The South Wales Gliding Club operate towed gliders from nearby - often to be seen over the village .-External links:* *...
, about three miles east of the town. Usk
TennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
Club is currently Tennis Wales "Club of the Year".
The town benefits from several high quality Hotels Including the Rat Trap Hotel, the Glan yr Afon and the Three Salmons, which bring a lot of tourism into the area.
Roman times
Usk was founded about AD 55 as the
RomanRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
legionaryThe 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 ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
fortressThe Latin 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. As the word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin, it probably descended from Indo-European to...
of
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....
, the earliest legionary fortress in
Wales- Pre Roman Wales :Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, the native inhabitants of Iron Age Britain spoke Brythonic languages and were regarded as Britons...
. Although the site was constricted by hills, subject to flooding, and not on a navigable river, it offered good communications inland up the
River UskThe River Usk rises 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...
. However, by around AD 75 its disadvantages had become apparent and the Romans relocated their military base south to
CaerleonCaerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales.It is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress and an Iron Age hill fort...
. The Roman remains at Usk are buried on the southern side of the town.
Norman times
After the fortress was abandoned, it continued to be occupied as a civilian settlement, with evidence of iron working. The
NormansThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
also realised Usk's geographical and military importance within the region, and the powerful
de ClareThe de Clare family of Norman lords were associated with the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Tonbridge and Ireland. They were descended from Richard Fitz Gilbert who accompanied William the Conqueror into England in 1066....
family built
Usk CastleUsk Castle is a castle site in the town of Usk in central Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom.- Location :Usk Castle is located immediately to the north of the present day town on a hill overlooking the streets and main Tywn square....
as part of their plans for controlling the area's resources and people. The castle, whilst hidden from view by surrounding trees planted in the early 20th century, is one of the few castles still privately owned and occupied.
Charters
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 headed by a prior or prioress. Priories are Catholic institutions.Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the...
was founded around 1170, and part of the building is retained in the church of St. Mary. The town was incorporated by charters granted by Edmund de Mortimer,
King Edward IIEdward II, called Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
,
Edward IVEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 2 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, and succeeding monarchs. Its location meant that it was inevitably frequently caught up in the border disputes between the English and the Welsh in this section of the
Welsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the United Kingdom....
.
The Welsh Revolt
Usk was the birthplace of
Adam of UskAdam of Usk was a Welsh priest, canonist, and late medieval historian and chronicler.- Patronage :Born at Usk in what is now Monmouthshire, southeast Wales, Adam received the patronage of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, who inherited the Lordship of Usk through his wife Philippa...
. His chronicle records the 'Welsh Revolt', in 1403, when
Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower and also sometimes styled Owain IV of Wales by modern historians, was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welsh person to hold the title Prince of Wales...
burned Usk to the ground while gaining control of South Wales from the English under King
Henry IVHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, at that time, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke...
and his son, later to become King
Henry VHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death. From an unassuming start his military successes in the Hundred Years' War, culminating with his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saw him come close to uniting the realms of England and France under his rule.-Early life:Henry was born...
. The important
Battle of Pwll MelynThe Battle of Pwll Melyn, also known as the Battle of Usk, was part of the Welsh revolt 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 important...
(
Usk) in 1405 occurred when English forces routed their Welsh opponents causing much loss of life, including the execution of three hundred Welshmen in front of Usk castle when taken prisoner. Owain's brother Tudur was killed in this battle. In 2005, the 600th anniversary of the battle of Pwll Melyn was commemorated by a
son-et-lumiere show.
Notable people
In 1679 Usk was the site of the martyrdom of
St David LewisSt. David Lewis , is remembered as one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.- Early life :He was born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in 1616 and raised as a Protestant....
, who was hanged for his alleged part in the bogus
Popish PlotThe Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates which gripped England in anti-Catholic hysteria from 1678 until 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II. These accusations would eventually lead to the execution of at...
of
Titus OatesTitus Oates was a 17th-century perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:Titus Oates was born in Oakham...
.
In 1823
LlanbadocLlanbadoc is a village and former civil parish in the ceremonial county of Monmouthshire in Wales.The village is in the Newport postal district of NP15, just across the River Usk from the town of Usk , off the A472...
, just across the river from Usk, was the birthplace of
Alfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
, co-discoverer of
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
.
Industry
From the late 18th century, Usk became well known for the quality of its
JapanwareJapanning is a word that originated from the 17th century. It is used to describe the European imitation of Asian lacquerwork, originally used on furniture.- Japanned :Japanned is most often a heavy black lacquer, almost like enamel paint...
, a process of decorating metals by applying a lacquer to tinplate. The process, known as
Pontypool japanPontypool japan is a name given to the process of japanning with the use of an oil varnish and heat which is credited to Thomas Allgood of Pontypool. In the late seventeenth century, during his search for a corrosion-resistant coating for iron, he developed a recipe that included asphaltum, linseed...
, was first developed in the west by Thomas Allgood of nearby
PontypoolPontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
and was taken on in Usk by his grandsons Thomas and Edward Allgood.
English and Welsh names
Usk was a thriving
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
through
VictorianThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
times. It takes its English name from the
River UskThe River Usk rises 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...
- a name derived from an ancient
BrythonicBritish or Brythonic was an ancient Brythonic language spoken throughout the island of Britain, south of the Firth of Forth....
word for river which may also mean "abounding in fish". The name resembles many others in
BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
(e.g. Exe, Esk), and is related to Scottish
uisge ("water"), and therefore to "
whiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize...
". During the latter 20th century the town was officially allocated the Welsh name
Brynbuga, meaning "Buga's hill" and first recorded for the town in the 15th century. The Welsh speaking population locally is very low.
Prison
HM Prison UskHM Prison Usk is a Category C men's prison, located in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and jointly managed with the nearby HMP Prescoed.-History:...
is situated close to the centre of the town, being of Victorian 'rotunda' design. The sister establishment of HM Prison Usk is
HM Prison PrescoedHM Prison Prescoed is a Category D men's open prison, located on the outskirts of Pontypool in Monmouthshire, South Wales. Prescoed is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and acts as a satellite prison of the nearby HMP Usk.-History:...
, which is located 3 miles to the south of the town near Pontypool. HM Prison Usk is a 250-bed establishment that accommodates vulnerable prisoners, but mainly sex offenders.
Twin town
Usk was twinned with the German town
Graben-NeudorfGraben-Neudorf is a town in Northern Karlsruhe County in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- Early History :The village of Graben was probably created between the 5th and 7th Century, though this isn't entirely certain. An ancient Roman road connecting Kehl, Mühlburg, Heidelberg, and Neuenheim runs...
in
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
in 1980 and over the past few years there have been numerous visits between the two towns, with the Usk Youth
Brass BandA brass band is a musical group generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles which include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
making its most recent visit in autumn 2006. In 2006 the colour scheme of Usk in Bloom was based on those within the crests of both Usk and Graben-Neudorf.
External links