Editing Monmouth (section)

==History==
Excavations undertaken by the [[Monmouth Archaeological Society]] on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered details of the early history of the town. The [[Council for British Archaeology]] has designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology.<ref name=kissack>[[Keith Kissack]], ''Monmouth and its Buildings'', Logaston Press, 2003, {{ISBN|1-904396-01-1}}</ref>

===Prehistoric===
Evidence of a [[Bronze Age]] [[boat building]] community, including three {{convert|100|ft|m|-1|abbr=off|adj=mid|-long}} channels adjoining the site of a now-vanished lake, was discovered in September 2013, during archaeological investigations by the [[Monmouth Archaeological Society]] of the [[Parc Glyndwr]] housing development site, immediately north-west of the town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24271564|title=Bronze Age 'boat building' discovery in Monmouth|date=25 September 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=3 October 2013}}</ref>

The excavations later revealed the remains of a [[Neolithic]] dwelling.<ref name="SWEP">{{cite news|url=http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Welsh-fortress-older-Pyramids-unearthed-new/story-27455536-detail/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813143020/http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Welsh-fortress-older-Pyramids-unearthed-new/story-27455536-detail/story.html |archive-date=13 August 2015 |title=Welsh fortress older than the Pyramids is unearthed at new housing estate |date=21 July 2015 |newspaper=[[South Wales Evening Post]] |access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref> The dwelling was constructed on stilts on a human-made island away from the lake shore in water up to {{convert|10|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} deep.<ref name="SWEP"/><ref name="WDP">{{cite web |url=http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Fortress-older-pyramids-uncovered/story-27466572-detail/story.html |title=Fortress older than the pyramids is uncovered in Monmouth |date=23 July 2015 |publisher=[[Western Daily Press]] |access-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725001511/http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Fortress-older-pyramids-uncovered/story-27466572-detail/story.html |archive-date=25 July 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Oak timbers had been "skillfully" cut with stone or flint axes to form stilts, of posts and poles, which "probably" rested on three parallel fully-grown tree 'sleeper beams', up to {{convert|3|ft|3|in|0}} wide, laid horizontally on the lakebed.<ref name="SWEP"/><ref name="WDP"/> Timbers from the structure were [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to 4867&nbsp;[[Before Present|years before present (BP)]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Martin |last=Shipton |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/ancient-lakeside-settlement-older-pyramids-9702162 |title=Ancient lakeside settlement older than the PYRAMIDS uncovered on new housing estate |date=21 July 2015 |publisher=[[Media Wales]] |work=walesonline |access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref>

===Roman times===
The first recorded settlement at Monmouth was the small [[Roman Britain|Roman]] fort of ''[[Blestium]]'', one of a network of military bases established on the frontiers of the Roman occupation.  This was connected [[Roman road|by road]] to the larger Roman towns at ''[[Glevum]]'' ([[Gloucester]]) and ''[[Isca Augusta]]'' ([[Caerleon]]).  Archaeologists have found [[Ancient Roman pottery|Roman pottery]] and [[Roman currency|coins]] within the modern town centre.  During the later Roman period, between the 2nd and late 4th centuries, it appears to have been a centre for [[iron working]], using the local [[iron ore]]s and [[charcoal]] also worked at nearby ''[[Gobannium]]'' ([[Abergavenny]]) and ''[[Ariconium]]'' (near [[Ross-on-Wye]]).<ref name=ggatlandscape/><ref name=newman>[[John Newman (architectural historian)|John Newman]], ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', 2000, {{ISBN|0-14-071053-1}}, pp.393–412</ref><ref name=briefhistory>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120305041740/http://www.monmouth-south.co.uk/South_Monmouth_Weather_Station/Brief_History.html A Brief History of the Town of Monmouth]}}.  Accessed 11 January 2012</ref>

===The Middle Ages===
[[File:Monmouth Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1373622.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Monmouth Castle]], part of which remains in use as a regimental headquarters and museum]]
[[File:The only known example of an original 'Monmouth Cap',dating from the 16th century.jpg|thumb|140px|The only known example of an original [[Monmouth cap]], dating from the 16th century, on display at [[Monmouth Museum]]]]
After the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]], the area was at the southern edge of the [[Welsh people|Welsh]] kingdom of [[Ergyng]].  The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at an unknown location within the town, dedicated to the Welsh [[saint]] [[Cadoc]].  In 1056, the area was devastated by the Welsh prince [[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]], on his way with an army of Welsh, [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxons]] and [[Danes]] to defeat [[Ralph the Timid|Ralph]], [[Earl of Hereford]], and sack the Saxon ''[[burh]]'' at [[Hereford]], {{convert|18|mi}} to the north.<ref name=briefhistory/>

Following the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, the Earldom of Hereford was given to [[William FitzOsbern]] of [[Breteuil, Eure|Breteuil]], [[Normandy]], one of [[William the Conqueror|King William]]'s closest allies, who was responsible for defending the area against the Welsh. [[Monmouth Castle|A new castle]] was built at Monmouth, holding commanding views over the surrounding area from a sound defensive site and exerting control over both river crossings and the area's important resources of farmland, timber and minerals.<ref name=ggatlandscape/> Initially it would have been a [[motte and bailey]] [[castle]], later rebuilt in stone, and refortified and developed over time.  A town grew up around it, and a [[Benedictine]] [[priory]] was established around 1075 by [[Withenoc]], a [[Breton people|Breton]] who became lord of Monmouth after [[Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford|Roger]], the son of William fitzOsbern, was disgraced.<ref name=ggatlandscape/> The priory may have once been the residence of the [[monk]] [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], who was born around 1100 and is best known for writing the chronicle ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' ("History of the Kings of Britain").

The town was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] as part of [[Herefordshire]], and expanded thereafter. There was early [[burgage]] development along Monnow Street, and the [[suburb]] of [[Overmonnow]], west of the river and protected by a defensive moat called the [[Clawdd-du]] or Black ditch, began to develop by the 12th century.<ref name=ggatlandscape>[http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/historic_landscape/wye_valley/english/wyevalley_features.htm Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Historic Landscape Characterisation: Lower Wye Valley].  Accessed 11 January 2012</ref>  Charters from the period refer to the town's trade in [[iron]], and to [[forge]]s making use of local [[iron ore|ore]] and [[charcoal]].  The [[Ember|cinder]]s produced by the forges formed heaps, and were used in building foundations; the name of Cinderhill Street in Overmonnow dates from this period.<ref name=kissackmedieval>{{cite book|last=Kissack|first=Keith|title=Mediaeval Monmouth| publisher = The Monmouth Historical and Educational Trust|year= 1974| page=24}}</ref>

During the period of turmoil between the supporters of King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] and the barons who sought to curtail his power, the town was the scene of a major [[Battle of Monmouth (1233)|battle in 1233]], in which the king's forces were routed by the troops of [[Richard Marshal]], [[Earl of Pembroke]].  Later, the castle was extended by Henry's son [[Edmund Crouchback]], after he became [[Earl of Lancaster]] in 1267.<ref name=ggatlandscape/>  In about 1300, town walls were built, and the [[Monnow Bridge]] was [[fortification|fortified]].  The bridge, now [[pedestrianisation|pedestrianised]], remains in place, the only such fortified bridge in Britain and reputedly one of only three similar crossings in Europe.<ref name=newman/><ref name=tchistory>[http://www.monmouth.gov.uk/pages/monmouth.asp Monmouth Town Council: History of the town] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424161512/http://www.monmouth.gov.uk/pages/monmouth.asp |date=24 April 2012 }}.  Accessed 11 January 2012</ref>

King [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] was briefly imprisoned at Monmouth Castle in 1326 after being overthrown by his wife [[Isabella of France|Isabella]] and her lover [[Roger Mortimer of Wigmore|Roger Mortimer]].<ref name="Mary Saaler 1997, p. 134">{{Cite book | last=Saaler | first=Mary | year=1997 | title=Edward II: 1307–1327 | url=https://archive.org/details/edwardii1307132700mary | url-access=registration | publisher=Rubicon Press | location=Norwich | page=[https://archive.org/details/edwardii1307132700mary/page/134 134]}}</ref>  In the mid 14th century, the castle and town came into the possession of the [[House of Lancaster]] through the marriage of [[John of Gaunt]] to [[Blanche of Lancaster]]. John of Gaunt strengthened the castle, adding the great hall, and the castle became a favourite residence of the House of Lancaster. In 1387, John of Gaunt's grandson was born to [[Mary de Bohun]], in the Queen's Chamber within the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, while his father [[Henry Bolingbroke]] was [[hunting]] in the area.  The boy was known as Henry of Monmouth before his coronation as [[Henry V of England|Henry V]]; supported by [[longbowmen]] from the area,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34618197 Neil Prior, "Was the Battle of Agincourt really a victory for Wales?", ''BBC'', 25 October 2015]. Retrieved 13 April 2020</ref> he won the [[Battle of Agincourt]] in 1415.  Monmouth's links with Henry are commemorated in the naming of the main town square, [[Agincourt Square]], and in the statue of Henry on the front of the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth|Shire Hall]].

From the 14th century onwards, the town became noted for the production of [[wool]]len [[Monmouth cap]]s.<ref name=tchistory/> However, as a border town, its prosperity suffered after nearby areas, including [[Battle of Pwll Melyn|Usk]] and [[Grosmont, Monmouthshire|Grosmont]], were devastated through [[Glyndŵr Rising|attacks]] by supporters of [[Owain Glyndŵr]] around 1405, though Monmouth itself did not come under attack.<ref name=briefhistory/>

===Post-medieval times===
<imagemap>
File:Old map of Monmouth, Wales.jpg|thumb|right|400px|alt=1610 Map of Monmouth by John Speed, roll over the image to link to the places shown|1610 Map of Monmouth by [[John Speed]], roll over the image to link to the places shown. <!-- Image size for coordinates 2,269 × 1,774 -->
rect 505 863 602 979 [[Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Monmouth|Church of St Thomas the Martyr]]
poly 1640 886 1667 914 1779 980 1781 1058 1612 968 [[Church Street, Monmouth|Butcher's Rowe (now Church Street)]]
circle 1599 731 100 [[Monmouth Castle]]
poly 1442 849 1641 888 1613 966 1443 936 1412 866 [[Agincourt Square, Monmouth| The Bailey (now Agincourt Square)]]
rect 1782 825 1925 974 [[St Mary's Priory Church, Monmouth|St Mary's Priory Church]]
rect 2113 1278 2233 1379 [[Wye Bridge, Monmouth|Wye Bridge]]
poly 1474 1485 1557 1390 1642 1395 1841 1409 1988 1349 2207 1312 2207 1347 2043 1378 1927 1421 1822 1452 1741 1454 1596 1433 1552 1442 1517 1485 [[River Wye]]
poly 362 1486 568 1321 646 729 716 688 1366 704 1561 607 1676 644 1907 616 1993 642 2203 778 2203 795 1949 646 1872 642 1753 666 1551 627 1473 650 1348 725 1066 730 731 710 674 748 594 1317 533 1386 403 1489 [[River Monnow]]
rect 601 823 694 880 [[Monnow Bridge]]
desc bottom-left
</imagemap>

In 1536, [[Henry VIII]] imposed the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542]], abolishing the powers of the [[Marcher Lords]] and integrating the administration of [[England and Wales]].  A new [[shire]] was created covering the area west of [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Herefordshire]], and Monmouth became its county town.  The town gained representation in the [[English Parliament]] at the same time, and its priory was [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]].  In 1605, [[James I of England|James I]] granted Monmouth a [[town charter]] by [[letters patent]]. 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".<ref name="tchistory" />  The layout of the town as depicted in Speed's map of 1610 would be easily recognisable to present day inhabitants, with the layout of the main axis clearly visible from the castle via the main street, [[Monnow Street]], to the bridge. Monnow Street is a typical market street, in being wide in the middle (for those selling) and narrow at each end, to help prevent livestock escaping.<ref name=briefhistory/>

[[Monmouth School]] was founded by [[William Jones (haberdasher)|William Jones]] in 1614.  The castle changed hands three times during the [[English Civil War]], and [[Oliver Cromwell]] passed through on his way to retaking [[Chepstow Castle]] and laying siege to [[Pembroke Castle]] in 1648.<ref>Peter Gaunt, ''Oliver Cromwell'', Oxford, Blackwell, 1996, p. 93. {{ISBN|0-631-18356-6}}</ref>  Monmouth castle was [[slighting|slighted]] after the wars ended, but the town itself grew in prosperity. [[Great Castle House]], built in 1673, is now the home of the [[Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)]], the oldest regiment in the [[British Army]].  The [[Shire Hall, Monmouth|Shire Hall]] was built in 1724, and was used for the local [[Assizes]], with the area beneath the building serving as the town market.<ref name=tchistory/>

By the end of the 18th century, the town had become a popular centre for visitors undertaking the "[[Wye Tour]]", an excursion by boat through the scenic [[Wye Valley]] taking in the [[picturesque]] sights of Ross-on-Wye, [[Goodrich Castle|Goodrich]], [[Tintern Abbey|Tintern]], [[Chepstow Castle|Chepstow]] and elsewhere.<ref name=briefhistory/>  Poets [[William Wordsworth]], [[Samuel Coleridge]], and [[Robert Southey]], as well as painter [[J. M. W. Turner]], were among those who visited the area.<ref name=tchistory/><ref>[[Elisabeth Whittle]], "All These Inchanting Scenes: Piercefield in the Wye Valley", ''Garden History'', Vol. 24, No. 1 (Summer 1996), pp. 148–161.</ref>

===The 19th and 20th centuries===
{{The Railways of Monmouth}}
[[File:Charles Rolls statue.jpg|thumb|left|160px|[[Statue of Charles Rolls, Monmouth|Statue]] of [[Charles Rolls]] at Shire Hall]]
The town was visited in 1802 by [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Horatio Nelson]], who knew the importance of the area's woodland in providing timber for the [[British Navy]] and approved a Naval Temple built in his honour on the nearby [[Kymin Hill]].<ref name="Horatio Nelson">{{cite web|url=http://www.monmouth.org.uk/History/nelson.aspx|title=Horatio Nelson in Monmouth|access-date=20 November 2009}}</ref> Wooden ships up to 500 tons were built at a shipyard just south of Monmouth bridge until the [[Old Wye Bridge|new bridge]] at [[Chepstow]] was opened in 1816. [[Priory Street]], the town's first bypass, was built in the 1830s, with the town slaughterhouse beneath. In 1840, at Monmouth's Shire Hall, [[Chartism|Chartist]] protesters [[John Frost (Chartist)|John Frost]], [[Zephaniah Williams]] and [[William Jones (Chartist)|William Jones]] became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] after being found guilty of [[treason]] following [[Newport Rising|riots in Newport]] that led to 20 deaths. The sentences were later commuted to [[Penal transportation|transportation]] to [[Van Diemen's Land]].<ref name=briefhistory/>

Until the establishment of an official police force in 1857, Monmouth had a [[parish constable]] assisted by [[beadle]]s to keep law and order.<ref name="kissack making">Keith Kissack "Monmouth – The Making of a County Town" (1975)</ref>  The appointed constables held office for a year and were often men who had experience in other local government or community roles.<ref>Clive Emsley "The English Police Force – A political and social history" Longman (1991)</ref>  William Fuller who held office as Monmouth's constable for over twenty years in the early to mid 19th century, also served as Inspector of Nuisances, Chief of the Fire Brigade, Inspector of Weights and Measures, Clerk of the Market, and Conservator of the Wye.<ref name="kissack making"/>

Fuller is also recorded as having rescued people from drowning, acted as emergency midwife, and rescued a woman from a flooded house.  The types of crime that Fuller and subsequent police officers had to deal with in and around Monmouth as the century progressed were recorded in detail in the local newspapers, the ''Merlin'' and the ''[[Monmouthshire Beacon]]''.  These crimes included theft of livestock, clothing, food, valuables, fuel (wood and coal); assault; vandalism; highway robbery; fraud; passing counterfeit coin; [[prostitution]], and indecent exposure, as well as the more serious crimes of concealing the death of an infant, carnal knowledge without consent, and murder.  The constable would have been present in court at [[Monmouth Shire Hall|Shire Hall]] when many of these cases came before the [[Quarter Sessions]] or [[Assizes]].  Once the court had passed sentence there was a wide range of punishments available to the authorities. Capital offences were dealt with at [[Monmouth County Gaol]], as were whippings and sentences of hard labour.  Although a police force of four constables and a sergeant was established in Monmouth in 1836, uncertain finances meant that within two years the force was reduced to just two constables.<ref name="kissack making"/>

Four railways were built to serve Monmouth between 1857 and 1883: the [[Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway]], the [[Ross and Monmouth Railway]], the [[Wye Valley Railway]], and the [[Coleford Railway]]. All of these closed between 1917 and 1964.<ref name=handley&dingwall>B. M. Handley and R. Dingwall, ''The Wye Valley Railway and the Coleford Branch'', 1982, {{ISBN|0-85361-530-6}}</ref> In 1896 a [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power]] station was built on the River Monnow at Osbaston, providing electrical power to the town until 1953. A [[Monmouth New Hydro Scheme|new hydroelectric station]] was built on the same site and has operated since 2009, typically generating 670,000kWh annually.<ref name="WesternMail">{{cite news | url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/countryside-farming-news/countryside-news/2009/11/17/new-hydro-electric-plant-at-osbaston-is-a-masterstroke-of-engineering-91466-25181981/ | title=New hydro-electric plant at Osbaston is a masterstroke of engineering | work=Western Mail | date=November 17, 2009 | access-date=April 23, 2019 | author=Dube, Steve}}</ref>

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Monmouth had close links with the [[Rolls family]], who built a mansion at [[The Hendre]] just outside the town.  In 1904, [[Charles Rolls]] established a new [[Rolls-Royce Limited|car making business]] with [[Henry Royce]], but in 1910 he was killed in an aeroplane crash at the age of 32; he is commemorated by a [[Statue of Charles Rolls, Monmouth|statue in Agincourt Square]].  St Mary's Church contains a memorial to the men of who died in [[HMS Monmouth (1901)|HMS ''Monmouth'']], which was sunk with all hands on 1 November 1914, by German cruisers [[SMS Scharnhorst|SMS ''Scharnhorst'']] and [[SMS Gneisenau|SMS ''Gneisenau'']] off the [[Chile|Chilean Coast]] at the [[Battle of Coronel]] during the [[First World War]]; the church hosts an annual service in remembrance.<ref name="HMS Monmouth">{{cite web|url=http://www.coronel.org.uk/monmouth.php|title=HMS Monmouth|access-date=2 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514205816/http://www.coronel.org.uk/monmouth.php|archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> Seven [[Royal Navy]] ships have been named after the town, including a [[Type 23 frigate]] launched in 1991 which is still in operation. The remains of two [[Pillbox (military)|pillboxes]] stand on the Wyesham side of the Wye Bridge. They were built in 1940/1 as part of the [[Western Command (United Kingdom)|Western Command]] Stop Line No. 27, designed to impede a German invasion force.<ref>{{NHAW|uid=950|num=MM348|desc=May Hill Pillboxes|class=SM|access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>

Monmouth remained a relatively quiet town for most of the 20th century; its passenger rail services ended in 1959, but its road connections were improved with the new [[A40 road|A40]] bypassing the town in 1966, although this "severed the town ruthlessly from the river on which in the past it had depended",<ref>{{cite book|last = Kissack | first = Keith|author-link=Keith Kissack|year=1989|title=The Building of Monmouth|location=Monmouth|publisher=Monmouth Historical & Educational Trust|oclc=40397291|page=6}}</ref> and later connecting the town to the motorway system. These improved communications contributed to the development of the town, with suburbs extending beyond the rivers [[River Wye|Wye]] and [[River Monnow|Monnow]] to the south-east, west and north of the old town centre.<ref name=briefhistory/> In July 2015 the town adopted a flag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monmouth Flag {{!}} Free official image and info {{!}} UK Flag Registry |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/monmouth-flag/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=The Flag Institute |language=en-GB}}</ref>