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Monmouth

This prosperous and charming old market town grew up at the confluence of three rivers - the Wye, Monnow and Trothy - all noted for their fishing. The River Wye is crossed by a five-arched bridge built in 1617, but the Monnow boasts the most impressive of the town’s bridges. Monnow Bridge is one of Monmouth’s real gems, and its sturdy fortified gatehouse, dating from the 13th century, is the only one left of its kind in Britain. When work was undertaken some time ago on the bridge to strengthen it, the foundations of the previous wooden bridge, dating from about 1180, were discovered, directly under the present one. The gatehouse was not part of this new bridge, however; it was added in the early 14th century as part of the town’s defences.

Long before the bridge was constructed, the Normans built Monmouth Castle here in around 1068. Later rebuilt by John of Gaunt in the late 1300s, the castle was the birthplace of his grandson, later Henry V, in 1387. Today, only the Great Tower and Hall of the castle still stand. In the 17th century, Great Castle House was built by the 3rd Marquess of Worcester from the ruins of the castle, and he lived here while his other homes, Badminton and Troy House, were being rebuilt. Today, the castle houses both the Castle Museum and the Regimental Museum where the histories of the castle and the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers are explored. The King’s Garden is a re-creation of a small medieval courtyard garden planted with herbs that would have been common around the time of Henry V.

Another interesting building in the town is the 14th-century Parish Church of St Mary, formerly a priory church, whose eight bells are said to have been recast from a peal that Henry V brought back from France after his victory at Agincourt. The story goes that as Henry was leaving Calais, the ringing of bells was heard and he was told that the French were celebrating his departure. He immediately turned back and took the bells to give as a present to his native town.

One of the graves in the churchyard is that of an obscure house-painter called John Renie, who died in 1832 at the age of 33. His headstone is an acrostic of 285 letters that reads, “Here lies John Renie”. This epitaph can be read over and over again, upwards, downwards, backwards and forwards, and if doglegs and zigzags are also included, it is apparently possible to read “Here lies John Renie” in 45,760 different ways. The memorial also records the deaths of his two sons, one at the age of one year and nine months, the other at the age of 83.

An earlier Monmouth man, Geoffrey of Monmouth, was the Prior at St Mary’s before becoming Bishop of St Asaph in North Wales. It was probably in Monmouth that Geoffrey wrote his massive work, A History of the Kings of Britain, with its legends of King Arthur and Merlin.

Also in the town is the Nelson Museum and Local History Centre, where a fascinating collection of material and artefacts about the great Admiral can be seen. This interesting collection of memorabilia was accumulated by Lady Llangattock, the mother of Charles Stuart Rolls of Rolls-Royce fame, who, while born in London, had his ancestral home nearby. The history of the town is illustrated in displays in the same building. The exploits of the Hon Charles Rolls in cars, balloons and aeroplanes are featured here; one of the most evocative pictures is of Rolls in the basket of his Midget balloon at Monmouth Gasworks in about 1908. Some five miles from the town is the Rolls estate where Charles grew up and developed an early interest in engineering and motoring that led to his forming the Rolls-Royce company. Charles died in an air accident in 1910 and his statue, along with a monument to Henry V, can be seen in the town’s main Agincourt Square. He is buried in the churchyard of
St Cadoc’s, at Llangattock-vibon-Avel, not far from Monmouth.

Just to the west of the town, and practically on the border with England, lies The Kymin, a National Trust-owned hill overlooking the River Wye. From here there are spectacular views across the picturesque landscape. Lord Nelson visited The Kymin and declared the view the best he had ever seen. The Round House, also found here, was erected by the Kymin Club in 1794. The members of this club were local worthies who liked to hold open-air lunch parties on the Kymin. They decided to construct a building so that they could picnic inside in bad weather, and the result is the Round House - round so that the views could be enjoyed from every part of the house. Offa’s Dyke footpath runs through the land. Nearby is the Naval Temple, opened in the early 19th century to commemorate the Battle of the Nile.