CHEPSTOW, a port and market-town and parish, in
the upper division of the hundred of CALDICOTT, county
of MONMOUTH, 15 miles (S. by E.) from Monmouth,
and 131 (W.) from London, containing 3008 inhabitants.
This place, called by the Britons Cds Gwent,
and by most antiquaries supposed to have risen from
the ruins of the ancient city Venta, about four miles to
the west, derives its present name from the Saxon.
Chepe, a market, and Stowe, a town: it obtained also
the name Striguil from the earls of Pembroke, to whom
it belonged at the time of the Conquest, and who, from
their residing in a neighbouring castle of that name,
were called lords of Striguil> by which designation the
manorial courts are still held. Soon after the Conquest,
a strong castle was erected, probably by William Fitz-
Osborn, Earl of Hereford, on the summit of a rocky
precipice overhanging the river Wye, of which there are
considerable remains richly overspread with ivy, and
forming a picturesque and stately object from various
points of view. About the same time the town was
fortified with strong walls of considerable extent, several
portions of which, together with the bastions erected
for their defence, are still remaining. In the reign
of Stephen, a priory of Benedictine monks was founded
here, and dedicated to St. Mary, the revenue of which,
at the dissolution, was £32. 4. During the parliamentary
war, the inhabitants adhered firmly to the royal
cause, and the castle was not surrendered to the parliamentarian
forces till after a vigorous siege, in which
it sustained considerable damage. On the Restoration
of Charles II., Henry Marten, one of those who sat in
judgment on Charles I., was confined in the castle till
his death.
The town is beautifully sitiiated on the river Wye,
near its confluence with the Severn, and is built on
the slope of a hill, among the lofty cliffs that rise
abruptly from the western bank of the river  a hand-
some iron bridge has been erected over the Wye, at the
joint expense of the counties of Gloucester and Monmouth,
of which the river forms the line of separation:
it consists of several spacious and well paved streets, in
which are many handsome well built houses, and is
lighted with oil, towards defraying the expense of which
the late J. Bowcher, Esq. bequeathed £1000; but it is
very ill supplied with water, the inhabitants being
obliged to procure it at the distance of a mile and a
half. There is a small theatre, opened occasionally.
The trade principally consists in navy timber, oakbark,
and iron; ship-building is carried on to a considerable
extent, for which there are convenient docks
on the banks of the Wye. The river, at spring tides,
rises to the height of sixty feet at Chepstow bridge,
and affords convenient access to the harbour: seventytwo
ships, of an aggregate burden of five thousand
eight hundred and five tons, belonged to the port in
1829: in 1826, the number of vessels entered inwards
from foreign parts was thirteen British, and of those
cleared outwards, three. The market days  are Wednesday
and Saturday; and there are also great markets
on the last Monday in every month for horses, cattle,
sheep, pigs, and wool: the fairs are on the Friday and
Saturday in Whitsun-week, the Saturday before June
20th, August 1st, and the Friday before October 29th.
The county magistrates here hold petty sessions for the
division. The old passage over the Severn, within two
miles of the town, has been greatly improved by the
erection of stone piers, and the establishment of a regular
steam-packet by some gentlemen in the neighbourhood,
assisted by the Duke of Beaufort, who is lord
of the manor; it may now be crossed with safety at
any time of the tide: the ferry is under the direction of
a superintendent, and governed by salutary regulations.
The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Llandaff, rated in the king's
books at £6. 16. 8., endowed with £200 private benefaction,
and £200 royal bounty, and in the alternate
patronage of Edward Bearan, Esq. and Mrs. Burr. The
church, dedicated to St. Mary, and formerly the conventual
church of the priory, exhibits a fine specimen
of Norman architecture at the western entrance, and
contains the tomb of Marten, who died in the castle.
There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents,
Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics. A charity
school for thirteen poor children was endowed with
land, in 1605, by Richard Clayton, Esq. A National
school for an unlimited number of children of both
sexes, and a philanthropic institution, are supported by
subscription. Sir William Montagu's hospital, for thirteen
aged persons, was founded by that gentleman, in 1614,
and endowed with land. Powis' almshouse, for six
men and six women, was founded, in 1716, by Thomas
Powis, Esq., who bequeathed £ 1800 for its erection and
endowment.