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MONMOUTHSHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 729 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MONMOUTHSHIRE , a western border See also:

county of See also:England, bounded E. by See also:Gloucestershire, N. E. by See also:Herefordshire, N.W. by Brecknock, W. and S.W. by Giamorganshire (See also:Wales), and S. by the See also:estuary of the See also:river See also:Severn. The See also:area is 534 sq. M. The See also:surface is varied, and in many districts picturesque, especially along the valley of the Wye, and between that river and the See also:Usk. In the See also:west and See also:north the hills rise to a considerable height, and this See also:mountain region encircles a finely undulating See also:country. The highest summits are See also:Sugar See also:Loaf (1955 ft.), Blorenge (1838), and Skirrid Fawr (16o1), summits of the hills which almost encircle the See also:town of See also:Abergavenny. On the other See also:hand, along the See also:shore of the Severn estuary on either See also:side of the Usk, are two extensive tracts of marshland, called the Caldicot and Wentlloog levels, stretching from See also:Cardiff to Portskewet, and protected from inundations by strong embankments. The See also:principal See also:rivers are the Wye, which forms the greater See also:part of the eastern boundary of the county with Gloucestershire, and falls into the Severn; the Monnow, which forms a portion of its boundary with Herefordshire, and falls into the Wye at the town of See also:Monmouth; the Usk, which rises in Brecknock, and flows southward through the centre of the county; the Ebbw, which rises in the north-west, and enters the estuary of the Usk below See also:Newport; and the See also:Rhymney, which rises in Brecknock, and, after forming the boundary between Monmouth and Glamorgan, enters the See also:Bristol Channel a little See also:east of Cardiff. See also:Salmon abound especially in the Wye and the Usk, and See also:trout are plentiful in many of the streams. See also:Geology.—The See also:oldest rocks in the county are the See also:Silurian strata (See also:Wenlock Shale and See also:Limestone, and See also:Ludlow Beds) which See also:form an extensive anticline at Usk; a smaller inlier appears at Rumney on the See also:south-west See also:borders of the county near Cardiff. These beds See also:dip under the Old Red See also:Sandstone, a See also:great See also:series of red marls, sandstones and concretionary limestones (cornstones) which occupies the north-eastern part of the county; the highest beds contain grits and conglomerates which give rise to bold escarpments and lofty plateaux (e.g. the Sugar Loaf and Skirrid Fawr) alongside the outcrop of the Carboniferous Limestone.

The western part of the county, between See also:

Pontypool and the river Rhymney, is occupied by the eastern end of the great South Wales See also:coal-See also:field, where the Carboniferous Limestone, Millstone Grit and Coal See also:Measures (See also:Lower Coal Series, See also:Pennant Sandstone and Upper Coal Series) dip west-See also:ward and succeed each other from east to west. The Coal Measures abound in coal-seams and ironstone, and their densely populated valleys offer a marked contrast to the agricultural and See also:pastoral districts of the See also:rest of the county. The Carboniferous Limestone comes in again in the south-east near See also:Chepstow, and has imparted its characteristic scenery to the lower reaches of the Wye. After a prolonged See also:interval, during which these older formations were folded, faulted, upheaved and finally carved by erosion into hills and valleys, the See also:southern portion of the region was submerged beneath the See also:waters of the Triassic See also:lake in which the See also:Keuper Marls were deposited. These consist of red conglomerates and marls which wrap See also:round the heights and fill up the hollows among the older rocks to the south-west of Chepstow, and the subsidence continuing, admitted the waters of the See also:Jurassic See also:sea which deposited the fossiliferous See also:Rhaetic and See also:Lias limestones and shales of Llanwern and Goldcliff near Newport. Glacial See also:gravel and See also:boulder-See also:clay are found in the valleys and a broad See also:tract of See also:alluvium borders the shores of the Bristol Channel. See also:Agriculture.—Along the Severn shore the See also:soil is deep and loamy, and admirably suited for the growth of trees. The most fertile See also:land is that resting on the Red Sandstone, especially along the See also:banks of the Usk, where See also:wheat of See also:fine quality is raised. In themountainous regions more See also:attention is paid to grazing than to the raising of crops. There are a considerable number of See also:dairy farms, but See also:sheep-farming is much more largely followed. Only about seven-tenths of the See also:total area of the county is under cultivation. There is a large extent of See also:hill pasture, and a considerable acreage under orchards.

See also:

Mining.—The coal-mines and See also:iron-See also:works which Monmouthshire shares with South Wales are very important. They occur in the See also:wild and mountainous western part of the county, where a series of upland valleys, See also:running parallel from N.N.W. to S., has each its populous mining townships and See also:railways, which have in many cases necessitated remarkable See also:engineering works—such as the great Crumlin viaduct. These valleys, in See also:order from east to west, with the principal townships in each, are as follows: Afon Lwyd (Panteg, Pontypool, See also:Abersychan and See also:Blaenavon) ; Ebbw Fach (See also:Abertillery, Nantyglo and Blaina), joining the Ebbw (Risca, Ebbw Vale) ; Sirhowy (Bedwellty and See also:Tredegar) ; Rhymney (New Tredegar and Rhymney). Besides coal, a considerable quantity of See also:fire-clay and some iron are raised. Communications.—The principal railway serving the county is the Great Western, but in the mining districts there are also various branches of the See also:London and North-Western, Rhymney and See also:Brecon and Merthyr systems. The Crumlin See also:Canal from the Ebbw Valley, and the Monmouthshire Canal from Pontypool converge upon Newport, which is the principal See also:port in the county. The Brecon Canal runs north from Pontypool into the valley of the Usk. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the See also:ancient county is 341,688 acres, with a population in 1891 of 252,416, and in 1901 of 292,317. The area of the administrative county is 349,712 acres. The county comprises 6 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Abergavenny (pop. 7795), Monmouth (5095), and Newport, a county See also:borough (67,270).

The following are See also:

urban districts: See also:Abercarn (12,607), Abersychan (17,768); Abertillery (21,945), Bedwellty (9988), Blaenavon (10,869), See also:Caerleon (1367), Chepstow (3067), Ebbw Vale (20,994), Llanfrechfa, Upper (2979), Llantarnam (5287), Mynyddislwyn (3337), Nantyglo and Blaina (13,489), Panteg (7484), Pontypool (6126), Rhymney (7915), Risca (9661), Tredegar (18,497), and Usk (1476). Monmouthshire is in the See also:Oxford See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Monmouth. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions, and is divided into 11 See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Monmouth and Newport have commissions of the See also:peace, but no See also:separate court of quarter sessions. The See also:parliamentary divisions are the See also:northern, western and southern, each returning' one member; and the Monmouth See also:district of parliamentary boroughs, consisting of the towns of Monmouth, Newport and Usk, returns one member. See also:History.—The district which is now Monmouthshire formed the Welsh See also:kingdom of Gwent at the See also:time of the See also:Heptarchy, and, owing to the extraordinary courage of the Gwentians in resisting the repeated inroads of the See also:Saxons, no permanent See also:English See also:settlement was effected in the district until See also:close upon the See also:middle of the 11th See also:century. The incursions of the West Saxons began in the 7th century, and, during the reign of See also:Alfred, Brochmael and Fermael, See also:kings of Gwent, acknowledged Alfred as their See also:lord, and sought his See also:protection against their enemies. In the 9th and loth centuries the district was frequently harried by the Danes, who in 915, under Ohter and Hwald, sailed round Wessex and See also:Cornwall to the mouth of the Severn and plundered all along the banks of the Wye, finally taking prisoner the See also:bishop of See also:Llandaff, whom they only released on a See also:ransom of £40. In 926 IEthelstan obliged the kings of the north Britons to meet him at See also:Hereford and fixed the Wye as the limit of their territory. In 976 the Danes destroyed Caerleon, at this time the See also:chief town of the district. The See also:early rth century was taken up with a series of interminable contests between the Welsh princes for the See also:succession in South Wales, as a result of which the Welsh See also:Chronicle relates that in 1047 the whole of South Wales See also:lay See also:waste, and in 1049, when a See also:fleet of Irish pirates entered the Severn estuary, See also:Griffith, the See also:king of South Wales, assisted them in plundering the neighbourhood. In 1o65 Harold conquered the whole district between the lower reaches of the Wye and the Usk, and gave orders for the construction of a See also:hunting-See also:box at Portskewet for See also:Edward the See also:Confessor, but very shortly after Caradoc ap Griffith, with a large See also:body of followers, killed all the workmen engaged in the See also:building and carried away the provisions prepared for the king's reception.

After the See also:

Conquest the district conquered by Harold was bestowed on See also:William Fitz See also:Osborne, See also:earl of Hereford, who built Monmouth See also:Castle, and continued the See also:line of See also:defence against the Welsh frontier along the Wye, while a second line of fortifi-Qations along the Usk Valley marked the continued advance of the See also:Normans, who by 1085 had subjugated almost the whole of Gwent. The lordship of Overwent See also:fell to See also:Hamelin de Baladun, who founded the castle and priory of Abergavenny, and from him passed to See also:Brian Fitz See also:Count and later to See also:Walter Fitz See also:Miles, earl of Hereford. The lordship of Netherwent remained for many centuries with the See also:Clare See also:family. Penhow Castle was a strong-hold of the family of St Maur or See also:Seymour, from whom are descended the See also:present See also:dukes of See also:Somerset, and Grosmont and Skenfrith Castles of the family of See also:Braose. Gwent still ranked as Welsh territory at the time of the Domesday Survey, but the town of Monmouth, the castle of Caerleon, and the district of Archenfeld, are assessed under Herefordshire, and the three hardwicks of Llanwern, Portskewet and Dinam under Gloucestershire. The See also:Norman lords of the present county held their lands " per baroniam," so that the king's See also:writ did not run in them, and the lives and See also:property of the poorer inhabitants were entirely at the See also:mercy of these lords marchers as they were termed. The county still exhibits remains of no less than twenty-five Norman castles. The See also:province of Gwent was formerly divided into four cantrefs, each comprising several commotes. Cantref Uwchcoed, or Upper Gwent, comprised the commotes of Erging and Ewyas, now principally in Hereford-See also:shire, and the greater part of the present hundreds of Skenfrith, Abergavenny and Usk; Cantref iscoed, or Lower or Nether Gwent, comprised the present See also:hundred of See also:Raglan and parts of Caldecote and Usk; Cantref Gwentlwg comprised the present hundred of Wentiwg; while the See also:fourth cantref, Cantref Coch, now forms the See also:Forest of See also:Dean in Gloucestershire. See also:Leland, See also:writing in the 16th century, describes Gwent as comprising the three divisions of See also:low, middle and high " Venteland," and at this See also:period it included no less than 24 lordship See also:marches, each governed by its own ancient See also:laws and customs and ruled by its own lord. Under the See also:act of 1536 for the abolition of the marches, these 24 lordships were See also:united to form a shire; Monmouth was constituted the shire town, and the See also:sheriff's court was ordered to be held alternately at Monmouth and Newport. A See also:commission was also appointed to See also:divide the shire into hundreds, which were made 6 in number: Abergavenny, Caldecote, Raglan, Skenfrith, Usk and Wentiwg, the See also:bounds being subsequently ratified by act of See also:parliament of 1542-1543.

No sheriffs were actually appointed for Monmouthshire until 1541, and the legal authority of the lords marchers was not finally abolished until 1689. The act of 1536 did not expressly separate the county from Wales, and it was only gradually that Monmouthshire came to be regarded as an English county, being included in the Oxford circuit for the first time in the reign of See also:

Charles II. Ecclesiastically Monmouthshire has been almost entirely included in the See also:diocese of Llandaff since the See also:foundation of that diocese in the 6th century. Monmouth, however, was in the diocese of Here-See also:ford, and a few parishes formed part of the diocese of St Davids, until under the See also:statute of 1836 the whole county was placed under the See also:jurisdiction of the bishop of Llandaff. It contains, wholly or in part, 134 ecclesiastical parishes. The river See also:fisheries of Monmouthshire have been famed from very early times, Caerleon with seven fisheries in the Wye and the Usk yielding a return of £7, 1os. at the time of the Domesday Survey. Coal is said to have been worked in the reign of Edward I., but the See also:industry lapsed altogether until it received new See also:life from the construction of the canal between Blaenavon and Newport, begun in 1792 and completed in 1795. The first iron-workers at Pontypool were a family of the name of See also:Grant, who were succeeded in 1565 by Mr See also:Richard Hanbury. In 1740, however, Monmouthshire contained only two furnaces, making 90o tons annually. Fifty years later three new furnaces were constructed at Blaenavon, and from that date the industry steadily improved. By the act of 1536 two knights were to be returned for the shire and one See also:burgess for the borough of Monmouth, but the first returns for the county were made in 1547 and for the borough in 1553. . From 1698 the boroughs of Newport and Usk returned one member each.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 the county now returns three members in three divisions. Antiquities.—Of Norman fortresses in Monmouthshire, either built or taken See also:

possession of by the lords of the marches, there are remains of no less than twenty-five. The more interesting and important are: Caldicot, the seat of the De Bohuns, with a round keep of the 13th century, See also:gatehouse and other portions, still partly inhabited; Chepstow, one of the finest examples of the Norman fortress extant, in an imposing situation on a cliff above the Wye; Newport, Abergavenny, the gateway and See also:hall of Grosmont, once the See also:residence of the dukes of See also:Lancaster; and Usk Castle, rebuilt by the See also:Clares in the time of Edward IV. Raglan Castle, begun in the reign of See also:Henry V., is a very extensive ruin, still in See also:good preservation, and of See also:special See also:interest as a very See also:late example of the feudal stronghold. Charles I. resided in it after the See also:battle of See also:Naseby, and in 1646 it was delivered up to the parliamentary forces after a stubborn resistance of ten See also:weeks against See also:Colonel See also:Morgan and See also:General See also:Fairfax. At the See also:Reformation there were in Monmouth two hospitals and fifteen other religious houses; but of these there are now important remains of only two—Llanthony See also:Abbey and Tintern Abbey, both Cistercian. Llanthony Abbey in the See also:Black Mountains was founded by William de See also:Lacy in 1103, and the See also:church, dating from about 1200, is one of the earliest examples in England of the Pointed See also:style. The ruins consist of portions of the See also:nave, See also:transept, central See also:tower and See also:choir. Tintern Abbey (q.v.), founded by Walter de Clare in 1131, occupies a position of great beauty on the Wye, and is among the finest monastic ruins in England. Of the churches, those chiefly worthy of mention are at Abergavenny, belonging to a See also:Benedictine priory, and containing a number of old tombs; Chepstow, partly Norman, and possessing a richly moulded See also:doorway; St Woolos' Church, Newport, also Norman; the Norman See also:chapel of St See also:Thomas, Monmouth; See also:Christchurch, principally Norman; Mathern, Early English, with a tablet to Tewdrig, king of Gwent in the 6th century; and Usk, formerly attached to a Benedictine priory. See See also:Victoria County History, Monmouthshire; William See also:Coxe, An See also:Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, 2 pts. (London, 180,); N.

See also:

Rogers, See also:Memoirs on Monmouthshire (London, 17o8); See also:David See also:Williams, History of Monmouthshire (1796); See also:George See also:Ormerod, Strigulensia. Archaeological Memoirs See also:relating to the District adjacent to the Confluence of the Severn and the Wye; M. E. Bagnall-Oakeley, See also:Account of the See also:Rude Monuments in Monmouthshire (Newport, 1889) ; J. A. Bradney, A History of Monmouthshire (1904, &C.); also the publications of the Caerleon Antiquarian Association.

End of Article: MONMOUTHSHIRE

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