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Chepstow

This splendid old market town, which lies on the border with England, takes its name from the Old English “chepe stow”, meaning market place. It occupies a strategic crossing on the River Wye between England and Wales, and looks across the river into England. Situated on a crag are the massive and well-preserved ruins of Chepstow Castle, which William Fitzosbern, Earl of Hereford, began building in 1067 as a base for the Norman conquest of southeast Wales. Its importance can be judged from its huge size and the fact that it was built of stone, when most Norman fortresses of the time were in motte and bailey form and built from earth and timber. The castle began life as a keep, and towers, walls, fortifications and gatehouses were added to prepare it for the Welsh wars, in which, as it happened, it played no part. It is open throughout the year. The magnificent Great Hall is the oldest surviving stone fortification in Britain and, along with 13th century kitchen, displays the domestic side of life at the castle.

A major exhibition within its walls, A Castle at War, relates its history, and a group of local people have come together to form the Chepstow Garrison; dressing up and re-enacting scenes from Chepstow’s past, they have become a popular attraction for both local residents and tourists.

Built at the same time as the castle keep, and by the same William Fitzosbern, is the Parish Church of St Mary. It was the church of a former Benedictine priory that suffered considerable damage after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. It suffered further damage in 1701 when the massive central tower collapsed. The vast three-storey original nave gives some idea of the grand scale on which it was built. The church contains some imposing and interesting monuments, including the Jacobean tomb of Margaret Cleyton with her two husbands and 12 children. This lady paid for the town’s gatehouse to be rebuilt in 1609. This sturdy building now houses some town council offices. Also entombed in St Mary’s is Henry Marten, friend of Oliver Cromwell and signatory to the death warrant of Charles I. Marten spent many years imprisoned in Chepstow Castle, in the tower that now bears his name. William Fitzosbern also founded the Abbey at Cormeilles in Normandy, a town with which Chepstow is now twinned.

Opposite the castle is Chepstow Museum, housed in an elegant 18th-century merchant’s house and here the rich and varied history of this border town is revealed. The museum has displays on the town’s many industries, including shipbuilding, fishing and the wine trade. Chepstow was at one time an important centre for shipbuilding, and one of the many photographs in the exhibition shows the closing stages in the building of War Genius in National Shipyard No 1 in 1920. Ships were built well into the 1920s, and the tradition was revived during World War II with the construction of tank landing craft.

Throughout the town itself, the medieval street pattern is still much in evidence, along with surviving sections of the town wall, called the Port Wall, and the impressive Town Gate. But Chepstow is also a thriving modern town, and its attractions include an excellent racecourse offering both Flat and National Hunt racing; the highlight of the jumping season is the valuable and prestigious Welsh Grand National. The racecourse lies within the grounds of historic Piercefield Park.

Piercefield Picturesque Walk was created in the 1750s by Valentine Morris the Younger, and follows the Wye river cliff up to the Eagle’s Nest. Chepstow is at one end of Offa’s Dyke, the 8th-century defensive ditch and bank built by the King of Mercia. It is also the starting point for the long-distance Wye Valley and Gloucestershire Way walks.