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MONMOUTHSHIRE. 



MONMOUTHSHIRE. 



8S0 



mouthshire an) the Wye, the Ufk, the Rumney, the Ebbw, the 

 Sirhowy, the Avon-Llwyd. and the ilunnow. 



The Wye first enters Monmouthshire at a detached portion, the 

 parish of Welsh Bicknor, of which it forms the ■we8t<^rn and southern 

 boundary ; thence it flows between the counties of Hereford and 

 Gloucester, until it reaches Hadnock Wood, in the parish of English 

 Newton, where for a short distance it divides Herefordshire from 

 Monmouthshire : it then enters Monmouthshire, and flowing past 

 the town of Monmouth, it again at Redbrook becomes the boundary 

 of the county, and continues so to its mouth in the sestuary of the 

 Severn. Sea-going vtssels work up to Chepstow bridge. The tide 

 ascends the river as far as Tintern, 5 or 6 miles higher up. Above Chep- 

 stow the Wye is navigated by trows or heavy barges which are draped 

 by gangs of men over the weirs and rapids that occur in the river 

 above the tide-way. It is the portion of this river bordering Mon- 

 mouthshire that is most frequently visittd by tourists ; and the whole 

 extent from Monmouth to Chepstow is of remarkable beauty. From 

 Tintern to Chepstow the river flows between high and steep banks 

 crowned with woods, and ou approaching the WiDdclifT, a bold clifi', 

 800 feet high, it sweeps past a fine range of rocks called the Bannagor 

 Crags. Tintern Abbey, oue of the finest ecclesiastical ruins in Europe, 

 on one of the loveliest spots in England, is the gi^m of the scenery of 

 the Wye. The Uck enters Monmouthshire about 3 miles wfst of 

 Abergavenny, flows near that town, and through the middle of the 

 county past the towns of Usk, Caerleon, and Newport, into the Bristol 

 Channel. The Kumnty first reaches Monraonthsbire at its most 

 western point, and flowing in a south-south-east direction, divides it 

 from Glamorganshire, until it falls into the Bristol ChanneL The 

 Ebbw is formed by the Ebbw-Vach and the Ebbw-Vawr, two small 

 streams that rise within the Brecknockshire border, and flowing south- 

 south-east uoite their waters a short distance above Crumlin. From 

 this point the Ebbw flows south past Crumlin and Newbridge, to its 

 junction with the Sirhowy, on the right bank, whence it runs south- 

 east past Baasaleg, entering the Wentloog Level, through which it flows 

 by a very winding channel into the lestuary of the Usk. The Sirhotcy 

 also rises in Brecknockshire ; itenters Monmouthshire, a short distance 

 above the Tredegar iron-works, and flows through a long vale west of 

 the Ebbw, in a general south-south-east direction to within about a 

 mile of its junction with the Ebbw : through this distance its course 

 is eastward. The Avon-Llwyd rises on the western side of the 

 Blawrenge Mountain, and flows south-south-east through a vale 

 staddad with iron-works and intersected by tramways and inclined 

 planea, to Pontypool ; hence its course is due south to Llautitmam 

 Abbey, when it turns eastward, and JQiiis the Usk on the left bauk at 

 Caerleon. The Uunnow rises on the eastern slope of the Hatterel 

 Hills, in Herefordshire, near the village of Dorston. After a south- 

 south-east course of about 15 miles, it reaches the boundary of this 

 county about a mile south of the village of Cludock, in Herefordshire, 

 and alter separating tlie two couuties for a considerable distauc", it 

 enters Monmouthshire about Smiles north-north west of Monmouth, 

 passes that borough, and falls into the Wye. There is good fishing 

 in all these streams. The Wye and the Usk are both famous for their 

 nlmon. A canal runs from Newport to the neighbourhood of Ponty- 

 pool, thence to the west of Abergavenny and up the Vale of Usk to 

 Brecknock. The Crumlin Canxl braucht-s from the former between 

 Newport and Malpas, and runs along the left bauk of the Ebbw to 

 the village of Crumlin. In connection with these canals are m.'wy 

 ttamroads and railways, having several inclined planes aud tunnels of 

 great length, on which iron and coal are conveyed from the various 

 works. 



The county is well provided with common roads. The principal 

 are ti.e following — the road from Chepstow by Caerweot to Newport, 

 and thence to Cardiff; that from Chepstow to Monmouth and Here- 

 ford ; and that from Roia through Monmouth and Abergavenny to 

 Brecon and Caermnrthen. The South Wal>-s railway from Swausea 

 to Gloucester enters Monmouth-'hire a little east of Cardifi", and 

 passes through Newport and Chepstow, where it crosses the Wye by 

 a bridge of peculiar construction. [Chepstow.] Its length in the 

 county is about 28 miles. The Western Valleys railway, formerly a 

 trauiniad belonging to the Monmouthshire Canal company, was 

 adapted in 1850 to passenger traffic ; it passes through Itisco, Aber- 

 cam, i«ewbridge, and Crumlin, to the vicinity of the Nant-y-glo iron- 

 works near Blaina ; and has a branch to Ebbw Vale. The Newport 

 and Pontypool railway forms part of a continuous line from Newport 

 to Hereford, Shrewsbury, and Chester. Numerous tramways from 

 the coal-mines and iron-works converge upon Newport, and the quays, 

 wharfs, aud staiths on the left bank of the Usk, to the south of that 

 town. 



Soil, Climate, tie. — In the vales of Wye and Usk, and in many of 

 the southern parishes, the crops are much earlier than in the northern 

 ami western portions of the county, where the narrow valleys are 

 swept by the winds, and are subject to frequent rain. In the moun- 

 tainous portion on the north-west, little whrat is grown ; oats and 

 barley form the principal grain crops. In the fertile Vale of Unk, 

 the Vule of Wye, and the northern and eaet<m districts gtnerully, 

 wheat is the principal crop. Orchards are seen in favourable situa- 

 tions ; the hills are also frequently covered with oak-coppice. The 

 levels bordering the Bristol Channel consist partly of a black and 

 oioo. DIT. TOt. m. 



sterile peat, but chiefly of an alluvial loam, which is productive either 

 as pasture or meadow, or under tillage. 



Geology and Mineralogy. — That part of Monmouthshire which lies 

 east of a line drawn from Abergavenny to Newport, and prolonged 

 thence to the Bristol Channel, is composed of the old red-sandstone 

 formation. At Chepstow, a tongue of carboniferous limestone, from 

 the coal-basin of the forest of Dean, runs into Monmouth."ihire, and is 

 bordered on the south by a strip of new red-saudstone, which forms 

 the shore of the Severn. Close to Usk the strata of the old reil-sand- 

 stone have been pierced by the underlying rocks which form an oblong 

 district in the midst of the old red-sandstone formation. The district 

 to the west of the suppo8ed line consists of the coal-measures of the 

 South Welsh coal-field, skirted by a narrow band of carboniferous 

 limestone. The important minerals in this county are coal, limestone, 

 and ironstone. There are 12 beds of coal, varying from 3 to 9 feet 

 thick, and having an aggregate thiekncss of about 95 feet. The prin- 

 cipal strata lie at a considerable depth ; so much so, that some of them 

 cannot be profitably worked, but as the district is intersected by deep 

 valleys, the expense of sinking shafts is avoided, levels for iugress 

 and egress to the mine being driven into the side of the hills. Lime- 

 stone is burnt extensively for building purposes and manure, and is 

 used in large quantities iu the manufacture of iron. It is reckoned 

 that about a ton of limestone is required for the manufacture of every 

 ton of iron. The ironstone of this district is an argillaceous ore, 

 occurring sometimes in strata, sometimes in detached lumps or balls ; 

 the proportion of iron contained in it varies from 13 to 65 per cent. 

 The principal iron-works of Monmouthshire are the Rumuey, Trede- 

 gar. Sirhowy, Ebbw Vale, Victoria, the British, Peutwyn, Beaufort, 

 lilaen-Afon, Coalbrooke Vale, Blaina, Bute, Nant-y-Glo, the Varteg, 

 Aliersychan, and Pontypool, which terminates the mineral ranije in 

 that direction. The products of the iron-works and the collieri--s iu 

 Monmouthshire are shipped almost entirely at Newport. The area 

 of the Monmouthshire mineral district is estimated at 89,000 acr^-s. 



Divitiont, Towns, Jic. — Monmouthshire is divided into 6 hundreds : — 

 Abergavenny, north-west; Caldecot, south-east; Raglan, central and 

 east; Skenfritb, north-east; Usk, central; and Weutloog, west. It 

 contains 8 market-towns — Abeboatennv, Caerleon, Chepstow, 

 MoKMOUTH, Newport, Powttpool, which will be found under their 

 respective titles, aud Tredegar and Usk, which we notice here. 



Tredegar, population 8305 in 1851, about 12 miles W. by S. from 

 Abergavenny, and about 1 mile from the Brecknockshire border, has 

 risen up around the extensive Tredegar iron-works. The market is 

 held on Saturday. There are here a district church, and cbapela for 

 Wesleyan Methodists and Baptists: also schools supported by the 

 iron-works company. The Ebbw Vale branch of the Western Valleys 

 railway has its terminus neir Tredegar. 



Utic, a small neat and clean town of considerable antiquity, is situated 

 at tlie junction of the OUvy and the Usk, 12 miles S.W. from Mon- 

 mouth, population of the borough 1479 iu 1851. Usk unites with 

 Monmouth and Newport in the return of a member to the Imperial 

 Parliament. The borough is governed by a portreeve, two bailiffs, 

 and burgi'Bses. On an eminence above the town are considerable 

 remains of the castle. Several ancient encampments are uear the town. 

 The following are the only other places that require notice : the 

 populations are those of 1 85 1 : — 



Caerwent, population of the parish 420, the Roman military station, 

 Yenta Stlurum, aud afterwards a town of considerable importance, is 

 now a poor village. It is situated in the south of the county, at a 

 short distance from Caldecot Castle. The church is partly Norman, 

 with a lofty embattled tower. The chief objects of interest are the 

 Roman fortifications, which remain in a very perfect state. Roman 

 coins of the reign of Severus, tesselated pavements, and fragments of 

 sculpture, have been discovered ou the site. About 4 miles N. from 

 Caerwent is the only cromlech in Monmouthshire. Newbridge, situated 

 iu the Ebbw Vale, llj miles from Newport by the Western Valleys 

 railway, is a considerable town of only a few years growth. Higher 

 up the vale, on the left bank of the Ebbw, is Crumlin, also a rising 

 place, 12 miles by railway from Newport, with which it is also con- 

 nected by canal. In the valley of the Wye, between Chepstow and 

 Monmouth, are — Brookweir, a busy villaire, in which shipbuilding is 

 carried on to some extent : Llandoyo, a picturesque village of white 

 cottages straggling up the sides of a hill ou the right bank, amongst 

 noble trees ; uear it is a small waterfall called the Cleiodan bhoots : 

 aud Tintern, celebrated for its ancient abbey. 



By the Poor-Law Commissioners the county is divided into 6 Poor- 

 Law Unions — Abergavenny, Bedwelty, Chepstow, Monmouth, New- 

 port, and Pontypool. These Unions comprise 161 parishes and 

 townships, with an area of 354,006 acres, and a population in 1851 of 

 177,020. The county, with the exception of i parishes, is in the 

 diocese of Llaudaffand archdeaconry of Monmouth. Two members of 

 Parliament are returned for the county, and one for Monmouth aud the 

 boroughs connected with it. The county iu in the Oxford circuit; the 

 assizes are held at Monmouth. Quarter-se.'^sious are held alteruately 

 at Monmouth and at Usk. County courts are held in Abergavenny, 

 Chepstow, Monmouth, Newport, Pontypool, Tredegar, and Usk. 



Hi»lory attd Antiquities. — Monmouthshire at the time of the Roman 

 invasion was occupied by the Silures, whose capital was Caerwent. The 

 Silures were reduced by Jalius Frontinus in the reign of Vespasian ; 



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