Editing Monmouth (section)

===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>