MONMOUTHSHIRE, a county (maritime), bounded
on the west by the counties of Glamorgan and Brecknock,
in South Wales; on the north by pai-t of Brecknockshire
and by Herefordshire; on the east by
Gloucestershire, from which it is separated by the river
Wye; and on the south-epst and south by the river
Severn and the Bristol channel. It extends from 51° 28
to 51° 54' (N. Lat.), and from 2° 42' to 3° 19' (W. Lon.),
and comprises an area of four hundred and ninety-eight
square miles, or three hundred and eighteen thousand
seven hundred and twenty acres. The population in
1821 amounted to 71,833. At the time of the second
Roman invasion of Britain, Monmouthshire formed part
of the territory of the Silures. In the reign of the
Emperor Claudius, when Ostorius Scapula had succeeded
to the chief command, that general, leaving garrisons
in the chain of forts which his predecessor Auhis
Plautius had established upon the rivers Avon and
Severn, crossed the latter with his army, and landed
according to some authors, at a place called Aust-ferry
but, according to others, and with greater probability
at Caldecot-pill. The conquest of the Silurian territory
however, owing to the difficulties of the ground and the
spirited and persevering resistance of the British inhabitants,
proved to be a task much more arduous than
the Romans, so accustomed to triumph over hordes of
barbarians, had anticipated: their commander fell a
victim to the fatigue, auxiety, and chagrin, which he
experienced in this expedition, and it was left for Julhis
Frontinus, in the reign of Vespasian, to achieve the
final conquest of this portion of Britain. That part of
it which now constitutes the county of Moninouth then
became a portion of the Roman division called Britan
nia Secunda. From the many stations and camps which
those conquerors heve established, and from the numer-
ous fragments of their buildings and sculptures that
have been discovered, it appears that the fine climate
and great natural beaxity of this pleasant county rendered
it a favourite resort of the Romans, in the elegant
and luxurious, though declining, age of Rome.
At a period not long subsequent to the Saxon conquests,
Monmouthshire, together with the rest of the country
west of the Severn, continued free from the Anglo-
Saxon dominiou; and Caerleon, at that time its capital,
was one of the most floxirishing cities of the Britons.
Wales, which name was given to this part of the country
by the Anglo-Saxons, then included three regions or principalities,
viz., Groynnedd, containing the greater part of
tbe present North Wales; Powysland, comprising part
of North Wales and parts of Shropshire and Worcestershire;
and Dehenborth, including the present South
Wales, parts of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, and
the whole of Monmoxxthshire. In those remote and obscure
times it is difficult to trace the particular history
of this county, which sometimes formed a separate
territory under the name of Gwent, and at others was
comprehended in Morgannoe, which included Glamorganshire
and part of Carmarthenshire. The petty chieftains
of this latter province were professedly tributary
to the Prince of South Wales. The attempts of the Anglo-
Saxon sovereigns to subjugate Wales were opposed by the
Gwentians with extraordinary courage; nor does it
appear that they were ever completely conquered during
the Anglo-Saxon period. Canute entered Gwent, in the
year 1034, with a powerful army, on which occasion he
defeated Rytherch Ap Jestfn, Prince of South. Wales;
but his conquest seems not to have been permanent.
In the reign of Edward tbe Confessor, when Harold,
afterwards king of England, penetrated into the interior
of the country, defeated Gryffidd, Prince of North
Wales, placed a prince upon the throne of South Wales,
forced the inhabitants to swear fealty to the EngUfn
crown., and took hostages for the payment of tne
customary tribute, the Anglo-Saxons, or English, appear
to have occupied Monmouth, Chepstow, Caerwen,
and CaerleoD, and Harold is said to have erecteO a
palace at Portscutt. After the Norman Conquest, we
various Norman adventurers received Perm'ssl°?rsh
make incursions into Wales, and endeavour to estaJ.
themselves upon tbe Welch territory, several ot uw
petty feudal sovereinties were here established
lands, having been holden per baroniam, with full power
to administer justice to the tenants, were invested with
jura regalia, so that the king's writs did not run in them.
But in case of a contest between two lords marchers (as
these territorial proprietors were denominated), concerning
the limits of their respective territories, they
had recourse to the king as their supreme lord, and
justice was administered to them in the superior
courts of the realm. This system of feudal jurisprudence
was continued here, as in the other Welch
marches, until Henry VIII., in 1535, abolished the
government of the lords marchers, divided Wales into
twelve shires, and included Monmouthshire among the
counties of England. As regards the administration of
justice, however, Monmouthshire appears to have been
considered a Welch county until the reign of Charles II.,
when it was first included in the Oxford circuit: and
even since that time it seems to have been affected in
some degree by the ancient border law, as the jurisdiction
of the supreme court of the lords marchers, usually
held at Ludlow, in Shropshire, was not absolutely and
finally abolished until the first year of William and
Mary, when it was suppressed by act of parliament, on
petition of the gentlemen and inhabitants within the
principality of Wales. Reverting to the course of national
events which occurred within the limits of this
county subsequently to the Norman Conquest, the following
appear to be the most remarkable:-In 1171
Caerleon was taken by Henry II. in his progress to Ireland.
In 1215, Abergavenny castle was taken from the
forces of King John, by Llewellyn, Prince of WaleSi In
1233, November 12th, at Grosmont, Henry III. was surprised
in the night, and defeated by Richard Marshal,
Earl of Pembroke. In. 1405, at Usk, Owen Glyndwr was
defeated and driven to the mountains by the forces of
Henry IV. In 1645, Chepstow castle, which had been
garrisoned for the king, surrendered to the parliamentarians.
In 1648, the royalists, under Sir William
Kemeys, re-possessed themselves of it, but on the 25th of
May of that year, the parliamentarians, under Colonel
Ewer, retook it. On the 19th of August, 164S, Ragland
castle, under the celebrated Henry Somerset, first Marquis
of Worcester, after a most vigorous and protracted
defence, was surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax.
Monmouthshire is included in the archdeaconry and
diocese of Llandaff, with the exception, however, of six
parishes, three of which, WelchBicknor, Newton-Dixon,
and St. Mary's in Monmouth, are comprised in the
diocese of Hereford, and the other three, those of Old-
Castle, Llantony, and Cwmyoy, in the diocese of St. David's;
it is within the province of Canterbury, and is
divided into the deaneries of Abergavenny, Netherwent,
Newport, and Usk, containing one hundred and twentythree
parishes, of which forty-four are rectories, thirtynine
vicarages, and forty perpetual curacies. For civil
purposes it is divided into the six hundreds of Abergavenny
(Lower and Upper), Caldicott (Lower and
Upper), Ragland (Lower and Upper), Skenfreth (Lower,
and Upper), Usk (Lower and Upper), and Wentlloog
(Lower and Upper). It contains the borough, market,
and sea-port, town of Newport, the borough
and market-towns of Monmouth and Usk, the mar'-,
ket and sea-port town of Chepstow, and the market
towns of Abergavenny, Caerleon, and Pontypool.
Two knights are returned to parliament for the
county, and one representative for the boroughs of
Monmouth, Newport, and Usk conjointly. This county
is included in the Oxford circuit: the assizes are held
at Monmouth, and the quarter sessions at Usk.,. The
county gaol is at Monmouth. There are thirty-nine
acting magistrates. The rates raised in the county,
for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted to
£32,144. 5.3 the expenditure to £31,851. 7.; of which
£23,734. 1. was applied to the relief of the poor.
The general aspect of the county is pleasingly diversified;
much of it is mountainous and rocky, and those
parts abutting upon the mountain-ridges are sterile,
and afford but a scanty subsistence for the flocks
which feed upon them; but the rich land in the valleys,
and on the slopes of the hills, is finely checquered with
woods and pastures, intermingled with spots of tillage.
The beautiful scenery on the banks of the Wye has
often afforded subjects for the pencil and the pen; the
course of that river is particularly sinuous, and its
banks generally lofty, and much diversified with woods
and projecting rocks. In the hundreds of Wentlloog
and Caldicott, sea-walls have been raised for a considerable
extent, and at a vast expense, to keep off the sea at
high tides and in stormy weather, particularly during
the prevalence of such winds as blow from the south
west, from overflowing the spacious marshes in this
district, which would otherwise be subject to continual
damage by frequent inundations. Some of these walls
are of the height of twelve or fourteen feet, falling
back from the sea by a gradual slope, the stone-work in
front being supported by a large embankment of earth;
in other parts, particularly in the level of Wentlloog,
where they are not required to be so high nor so
strong, they are wholly constructed of earth. The walls
of Caldicott extend from that village almost the whole
distance to Goldcliff: the length of those of Wentlloog
is upwards of fifteen miles and a half, These expensive
works are kept in repair by the contributions of
the several proprietors, assessed according to the value
of their estates in the respective levels; they being
under the control of a court of sewers, and subject to
the same laws and regulations as Romney Marsh in
Kent. This land is divided by parallel ditches, in some
of which the water is stagnant, while in others it runs
in constant streams, called rheens, which at ebb tides
fall through flood-gates, or gouls, into the sea. The
general humidity of the western districts of the kingdom
is felt in this county: the rains are frequently of
long continuance, more particularly towards the seacoast;
the great aestuary of the Severn attracting the
clouds that rise from the western ocean, and causing
torrents of rain to fall on its northern and southern
shores much more frequently than on the inland parts
of Wales and the West of England. Of the general
salubrity of the atmosphere the longevity of the inhabitants
affords numerous proofs.
In an agricultural point of view Monmouthshire may
be divided into three districts. The first, comprising the
southern part of the county, consists partly of large
tracts of moor or marsh land, having in some parts
a rich loamy soil of great depth, and in others a vast
body of black peaty matter; other portions, again,
consist of a light loamy soil, which produces fine tim7
her of various kinds, while in another part there is a
mixture of clay and loam, forming fertile meadows, and
above them an excellent reddish soil, well adapted to the
growth of corn, turnips, or potatoes. The second division
includes the eastern part of the county, and extends
for a considerable distance along the banks of the
river Usk; the soil is of a light red colour, and such
are its natural advantages and fertility that the whole
district has the appearance of a garden. The third
division comprises the western and more hilly portion of
the county, the soil of which, upon the hills, is generally
thin, of a peaty nature, and covering strata of stone
lying upon beds of coal, or iron-ore. The low or marshy
lands are chiefly in a state of meadow and pasture;
the uplands are partly pasture, and partly arable.
The corn chiefly cultivated is wheat, barley, and oats;
and a few peas, or beans, are sometimes sown: the
common artificial grasses, such as clover, ray-grass,
and trefoil, are also cultivated. Notwithstanding that
much of the county is mountainous and rocky, and that
it contains numerous wastes and commons in comparatively
an unproductive state, yet the amount of
agricultural produce is considerably greater than is required
fov the consumption of its inhabitants: much
of this surplus is conveyed to Bristol and other markets.
Lime forms the principal manure; and the system of
summer fallowing is very general. The oxen are principally
bred in the northern parts of the county, and fed
in the southern: they are, for the most part, of a large
useful kind, of a deep red and brindled colour, rather
short in the leg and compact in the body, being evidently
a cross between the breeds of the two adjacent districts
to the north-east and south-west, the Hereford and
Glamorgan; some, indeed, are the pure breed of each.
They generally grow to a large size, weighing, when
fattened, from seven to nine hundred weight: when
young they are in great demand for the graziers,
who purchase them at the great cattle fairs when about
three years old, and sell them again for the labours of
the field: after they have been worked for a certain
period, they are also frequently purchased in store condition,
and then fed for the market. The sheep are in
general particularly small, and partake of the properties
so conspicuous in the mountain breed of South
Wales: the wool is of a coarse and rather short staple, but
the flesh is fine in grain and of delicate flavour: many of
these characteristic qualities are owing to their migratory
mode of feeding, and continual exposure to the vicissitudes
of the weather. This breed is now chiefly prevalent in the
mountainous parts of the county; in the middle and
lower districts are found some of the true Ryeland
breed; and numerous crosses have been tried with the
Cotswold, South Down, and Dorset breeds. The horses
are of an inferior kind, being meagre, light, and not
well adapted either for the business of the road, or the
labours of the field. Numbers of mules, and those
among the finest in the kingdom, are bred and worked
in this county; they are strong in bone, and of exquisite
symmetry, selling at very high prices; and are
chiefly employed in carrying coal in the mountainous
districts, and heavy articles from the navigable rivers
and canals, iron-ore from the mines, and manufactured
iron to the respective dep6ts, whence it is forwarded
to the different markets. A considerable portion
of the land is in sheep-walks; the quantity lying in
commons is very considerable; Greenmore common is
supposed to contain about five thousand acres, and
that of Caldicott about eight hundred, besides those of
Devandon, Chepstow, and various others of smaller
extent; much ground is occupied by the extensive mines
and quarries. The woods and coppices are numerous
and contain a great quantity of various kinds of timber
particularly beech and oak.
The most important mineral productions are iron
coal, limestone, and various other kinds of stone
valuable for building, and other purposes. The ironore
is found in such a quantity as to form, in consequence
of the district abounding with coal also, its
principal branch of manufacture. Although the mines
had been partially worked in very remote times,'the
works in this and the neighbouring county of Glamorgan
were carried on with little spirit until the latter part
of the eighteenth century, since which time great facilities
have been obtained by the application of the steamengine,
by improvements in hydraulic machinery, and
by the adoption of rollers instead of forge hammers.
The present works on the Welch border are of consi-.
derable extent and importance, producing both pig and
bar iron; attached to some are wire-works. Lead-ore
is also found; and the coal obtained furnishes more
than sufficient fuel for the supply of the inhabitants.
Limestone of the finest kind is found in almost
every part of the county, and, besides innumerable
quarries of it, there are some of brescia, for millstones,
and of other valuable kinds of stone. In ad-
dition to the manufacture of iron, there are, at Caer-
leon and Rogerstone, some tin-works. The manufacture
of flannel has been long established, but is of very
limited extent. Some few coarse cloths, woollen stockings,
and coarse caps, are made by the inhabitants
among the mountains, and brought to the great fairs
for sale. The caps, which are much in demand for seafaring
men, were formerly manufactured in much larger
quantities than at present, the principal part of this
trade having been removed to Bewdley, in Worcester- .
shire, the few caps still manufactured there being called
" Monmouth caps." A manufactory of japanned goods,
celebrated under the name of " Pontypool ware," from
its having been first invented in that town, in the reign
of Charles II., was formerly carried on both there and
at Usk, but has nearly declined, that trade having been
transferred to the towns of Birmingham, Wolverhampton,
&c. Hats are manufactured at Abergavenny, Monmouth,
and Newport; and in the vicinity of Monmouth
are several paper mills. The commerce, though considerable,
yet being chiefly carried on through the medium
of Chepstow and Newport, is identified with the
imports and exports of those places.
The principal rivers are the Severn, the Wye, the
Usk, the Rumney, the Monnow, and the Ebwy; besides
which are numerous smaller rivers and streams,
flowing through different parts of the county. When .
the Severn first touches this county, which it does at
the angle where it receives the waters of the Wye, n
is a river of great magnitude, with a strong tide, ana
in its progress, which is in a south-westerly direction,
it widens rapidly, and forms the Bristol channel, iae
Wye first reaches Monmouthshire, from Herefordshire,
at Newton-Dixon, and then forms a long. une
of separation between this county and Gloucestershire,
falling into the Severn below Chepstow; the course 01
this river is peculiarly winding: it is navigable for larg
vessels only to Chepstow bridge, but for barges, with some
difficulty, as high as Hereford. The Usk, rising in the
Hatterell, or Black mountains of Brecknockshire, enters
Monmouthshire at Llangrunny, and takes its course
nearly through the centre of the county to the Severn,
in a southerly direction, and through a most beautiful
valley, between lofty hills; this river, when swollen by
floods, is particularly impetuous; it is navigable for
coasting vessels up to Newport, and for barges as high as
Tredunnock bridge. The Rumney rises in the lower part
of Brecknockshire, and flowing through Duffin- Rumney,
forms the line of division between this county and
that of Glamorgan throughout the rest of its course,
falling into the Bristol channel below the village of
Rumney. The Monnow, rising in the Black mountains,
takes a southerly course, and after forming for a
considerable distance the north-eastern border of the
county, which it separates from Herefordshire, it falls
into the Wye at the town of Monmouth. The Ebwy also
rises in Brecknockshire, and passing under the Beacon
mountain, flows through the wild valley of Ebwy, and,
having been joined by a stream similar to its own from
the Sorwy valley, falls into the sestuary of the Usk below
Newport. This county has some lines of valuable
canal navigation. The Monmouthshire canal, which was
begun in 1792, and finished in 1798, commences on the
western side of the town of Newport, having there a
basin connected with the river Usk, and passing between
the town and the river, crosses the Chepstow road, and
proceeds to Malpas, where it divides into two branches;
one of these pursues a route, parallel to the river Avon
and by Pontypool, to Pontnewyndd, a distance of nearly
eleven miles, in which it has a rise of four hundred and
forty-seven feet: the other runs parallel to the river
Ebwy, in the direction of Crumlin bridge, and forms a
line of upwards of eleven miles in length, having a rise
of three hundred and fifty-eight feet: the average depth
of the water is three feet and a half, the boats which
navigate it carrying from twenty-five to twenty-eight
tons. By virtue of an act obtained in the year 1797,
the proprietors were authorised to extend the line eastward
one mile and a half;  and by another, passed in
1802, various further powers were obtained, for making
collateral tram-roads. In the 33rd of George III., an
act was obtained for the formation of the Brecknockshire
canal, which was designed to form a communication
between Brecknock and Newport, by way of
Abergavenny and Pontypool, in this county, forming
a junction with the Monmouthshire canal eight miles
and a half from Newport, and one from Pontypool:
from that canal it proceeds across the river Avon,
and, having been carried through a tunnel one hundred
and eighty yards in length, it passes by Mamhilad,
Llanover, &c. The commodities chiefly conveyed on
the Monmouthshire canal, of which the Brecknockshire
canal may be considered a branch, are coal, timber,
pig-iron, and iron in different stages of manufacture,
also various kinds of shop goods, together with furniture,
deals, &c., for the supply of the interior. On
the banks of the canal, at Pontnewyndd, commences an
iron rail-road, which runs along the side of the river
Avon to the Blaenavon iron-works, a distance of five
miles and a quarter, in which it has a rise from the
canal of six hundred and ten feet. One of the principal
modern roads passes across the southern part of the
county, entering it at Chepstow; and, proceeding past
Caerleon and through Newport, it leaves at Rumney.
Another mail-coach road runs across the northern part
of the county, from Monmouth, in a circuitous line
through Abergavenny, to a little north-west of that
town, where it enters Brecknockshire.
There were five principal Roman stations in that
part of the territory of the Silures which is included
within the present county of Monmouth: viz., J'enta
Silurum, fixed by the general consent of antiquaries at
Caerwent; Isca Silurum, at Caerleon; and Gobannium,
at Abergavenny: Burriuin and Blestium, according to
the opinion of Horsley, which is the most probable one,
were at Usk and Monmouth respectively. Although it
is supposed that most of the great roads connecting
the southern part of Britannia Secunda with the Roman-
British territory east of the Severn, must have
passed through Monmouthshire, yet the only one that
can be distinctly traced is one which passed south-westward
from Abergavenny to Neath, or to some station
in Glamorganshire, and which is called by the natives
Sarn-hir, signifying the long paved causeway. The miscellaneous
Roman antiquities discovered in this county
at different times are numerous and various; comprising
aqueducts, baths, sudatories, tesselated pavements,
columns, statues, bas-reliefs, hypocausts, altars, votive
and sepulchral stones, sarcophagi, urns, medals, coins,
fibulas, &c. Remains of numerous ancient encampments
are still visible in various parts of the county,
the construction of which, as this part of the British
territory was never permanently occupied either by the
Saxons or the Danes, it seems reasonable to attribute
almost exclusively to the Britons and the Romans.
The ancient castles, from its contiguity to the border of
Wales, were also very numerous, the sites of no fewer
than twenty-five being still distinguishable, most of
which were of Norman erection, and of several of them
considerable portions yet remain, though for the most
part ruinous: those of Caerleon, Usk, and Slcenfreth,
have the most decided claim to antiquity; that of
Ragland, though presenting the most magnificent extent
of ruins, is the most modern of all the ancient
fortresses. Many of the churches have a remarkably
picturesque appearance: they generally stand isolated,
in the midst of fields, on the banks of rivers
or streams, and are often embosomed among trees.
Their styles of architecture are very various; many
of them, especially in the mountainous parts, arc
very ancient: a few may be referred to the British
period, and several to the early Norman; but the greater
number are of a date subsequent to the introduction
of the pointed arch. The most ancient of all have
somewhat the appearance of barns, being of small dimensions,
without lateral aisles, or any distinction in
height or breadth between the nave and the chancel,
and without a steeple. Those of the second period
have the chancel narrower and lower than the nave; and
a small belfry, consisting of two arches, is fixed over
the roof, at the western end. The third class have a
tower, which in some instances is placed in the centre,
in- some at the side, and in others at the west end:
some in the eastern part of the county have spirey,
and seem to have been erected in the thirteenth century.
Few of the Monmouthshire churches having
undergone much alteration since the Reformation,
they still exhibit many vestiges of the Roman Catholic
worship and discipline, such as rood-lofts, niches, auricular
recesses, and confessional chairs. The custom of
whitewashing the outside of these edifices prevails in
this part of the kingdom, its origin being attributed
to the churches having been, in many instances, constructed
of pebbles and ragstone intermixed, which producing
an extremely rough surface, it was thought requisite
to cover them both internally and externally with
plaster; the external whitewashing, though usually confined
to the body of the church, sometimes includes the
tower also. The number of religious houses, including
two hospitals, was seventeen; the most interesting remains
are those of Llanthony priory church, and of the
Cistercian abbey of Tintern, both which exhibit large
masses of beautiful ruins, in picturesque situations.
The customs of the inhabitants much resemble
those which prevail in. the adjacent parts of Wales.
One, which is peculiarly striking to the eye of the
English traveller, is that of whitewashing the outsides
of the houses, which is usually done once a year, and
gives an appearance of remarkable neatness and cheerfulness
even to the humblest dwellings, considerably
heightening the picturesque effect of the diversified
landscapes with which the county abounds. The custom
of not only scattering flowers, but planting them
and evergreens upon the graves of deceased friends,
a usage of great antiquity, prevails here as in South
Wales. Among the poorest classes of the inhabitants,
Protestant as well as Roman Catholic, a superstitious
custom is observed, of begging bread for the souls of
the departed, on All Souls' day, the bread so given
being termed bara ran, that is, dole-bread. In the
north-eastern and south-eastern parts of the county,
the English language is in common use; but in the
north-western and south-western districts, the Welch
is generally spoken, excepting in the towns. The
natives of the midland parts are accustomed to both
languages: in several places divine service is performed
wholly in Welch, in others in English, and in some
alternately in both. The same tenacity shews itself in
the lower orders of the inhabitants of this county that
distinguishes those of the principality itself, with respect
to the original language, customs, and manners;
and, though continual attempts have been made to efface
them, by establishing English schools, yet the antipathy
of the people to the introduction of the language and
manners of the English is still inveterately strong. The
natives of the western and north-western parts, which
are mountainous and sequestered, retain their ancient
national prejudices with little abatement, and continue
to stigmatize every thing assimilating to what is English
with the epithet, opprobrious in their estimation, of
Saxon. The provincial language, as in the adjoining
county of Glamorgan, is the Gwentian, one of the three
dialects of Wales, in which many of the Welch odes
were composed, and which was considered the next in
purity to that of the Gwynedd.