Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/880

MONMOUTHSHIRE. 872 MONMOUTHSHIRE. deer through the forest. Near it are nine steps in the rock, and above is a largo stone having the appearance of a baptismal font ; these were until very recently sup- posed to be of Druidical origin, but it is now considered more probable that this mass of silicious grit has been detached from the underlying rock by natural causes, and drifted to its present position by water or icebergs at some distant geologic period. Fossils are not numerous in the underlying rocks in the vicinity of Monmouth, which consist chiefly of Old Red sandstone, conglomerate, concretionary limestone called carnstone, and tilestone, but in this last series the singular fish Cepluilaspis is occasionally found. Monmouth gave the title of Duke to James, the unfortunate natural son of Charles II. Races take place on the common in October. Saturday is market day. A market, which is well attended, is also held on the first Wednesday in each month for the sale of cattle, sheep, and pigs. Fairs are held on Whit- Tuesday for toys and pedlery, on the Wednesday before the 20th June for wool and cheese, and on 4th Sep- tember and 22nd November for cattle, cheese, and hops. MONMOUTHSHIRE, a maritime co. in the W. of England, extending from 51 29' to 51 59' N. lat., and from 2 40' to 3 17' W. long. It is bpunded on the N. by Brecknockshire and Herefordshire; on the E. by Gloucestershire, from which it is separated by the river Wye ; on the S. and S.E. by the estuary of the Severn and the Bristol Channel ; and on the W. by Glamorgan- shire and part of Brecknockshire. Its greatest length from the mouth of the Romney in the N.N.E. to the Monnow in the S.W. is 32 miles, and its greatest breadth 29 miles, with a circuit of 1 24 miles. It comprises an area of about 500 square miles, or 368,399 acres, of which 290,000 are under cultivation, and the remainder mountain, uncultivated, or under water. There are 23 miles of coast line, which is generally low and marshy, with several creeks or pills along it, extending from the mouths of the Wye and Rumney along the estuary of the Severn and part of the Bristol Channel. The high spring tides run up the Severn from the Bristol Channel, and rise at Chepstow to 60 feet, the highest tidal altitude reached in Great Britain. The principal points along the coast, commencing from the mouth of the Rumney, are St. Bride's light at the mouth of the Usk which leads up to Newport, Goldcliff Point, the Welsh Grounds sands, and Black Rock ferry, about 2J miles to New Passage, and the estuary of the Wye leading to Chep- stow. At the time of the second Roman invasion Mon- mouthshire, with Glamorgan, Brecknock, Radnor, and Hereford, formed the territory of the Siliira, whose capital was Caerwent. In the reign of the Emperor Claudius it was unsucessfully invaded by Ostorius Scapula, but was re- duced by Julius Frontinus, in the reign of Vespasian, when it became part of the Roman province Britannia Prima. So difficult, however, was the work of subjugation that the Romans were obliged to erect five stations in that part of Siluria alone, now known as Monmouthshire, viz. at Abergavenny, Caerwent, Caerleon, Usk, and Monmouth. It remained in the hands of the Romans till A.D. 408, a period of 330 years. Monmouthshire, together with the rest of the country W. of the Severn, continued free from the Anglo-Saxon dominion long after the rest of the island had submitted, and Caerleon became one of the most flourishing cities of the Britons. Wales then in- cluded three regions or principalities, namely, Gwynedd, Powysland, and Dehenbarth, or Gwent, in the last of which the whole of Monmouthshire was included. Between the Welsh and the Saxons war was almost continual, till in 1034 Canute entered Gwent with a large army and defeated the Prince of South Wales, Harold, in the reign of the Confessor, made-an incursion into the country and overran North and South Wales, but it does not appear that they were ever completely conquered during the Anglo-Saxon period. The Norman kings, after their conquest of England, having no troops to spare for the conquest of Wales, permitted the barons to make incursions on their own account, and to hold the lands they conquered as fiefs of the crown. These tenures became in time petty royalties, the barons assuming independent sovereignty, and daring to resist even the reigning monarch. In 1535 Henry VIII. put an end to these petty sovereignties by dividing Wales into twelve counties and joining Monmouthshire to England. But as regards the administration of justice, Monmouthshire was not considered an English county till the reign of Charles II., when it was first included within the Oxford circuit. In 1645 Chepstow Castle surrendered to the Parliamentarians, and in 1648 Rag- land Castle surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax, being the last castle in England that held out for the ki"K- The latest political event in the history of this county was the rising of the Chartists in November, 1839, to the number of 10,000 men, headed by an ex-magistrate, Mr. John Frost, and his son. The disturbance, however, was soon quelled, and the two Frosts transported. Tlio principal rivers of Monmouthshire are the Wye, the Usk, the Rumney, the Ebbwy, the Sirhowy, the Afou- Llwyd, and the Monnow. The Wye enters the county in the parish of Welsh Bicknor, and then separating the counties of Hereford and Gloucester, it re-enters Mon- mouthshire in the parish of English Newton, and flows past Monmouth, till at Redbrook it again becomes the boundary of the county, continuing so to its mouth at the estuary of the Severn. Ships work up the river as far as Chepstow bridge, the tides being felt 5 or 6 miles higher, but above the bridge the river is only navigable for barges and trows. On its banks is the Wyndcliff, a hill about 800 feet high, commanding a view unrivalled for beauty and variety ; and a little higher up, the far- famed Tintern Abbey, one of the finest ecclesiastical ruins in England. The Usk rises in Brecknockshire, and enters Monmouthshire on the N.W., 3 miles W. of Abergavenny, flowing through the middle of the county, and passing the towns of Usk, Caerleon, and Newport, falls into the Bristol Channel. It is navigable for ships of large size as high as Newport, where it forms an estuary to the S. of the town. Its principal tributaries are the Kebby, the Kevenny, the Afon-Llwyd, and the Alwy. The valley of the Usk is almost as famous for its beauty as the valley of the Wye. The Rumney enters Mon- mouthshire on the W., and flows in a S.S.E. direction, dividing this county from Glamorganshire, till it falls into the Bristol Channel. The Ebbwy rises in Brecknock- shire, flows through Monmouthshire in a south-easterly direction past Crumliu and Newbridge to its junction with the Sirhowy, whence it flows S.E. past Bassaleg and Tredegar Park, through the Wentllooge level into the estuary of the Usk. The Sirhowy also rises in Breck- nockshire and takes a south-easterly direction till it joins the Ebbwy. The Afon-Llwyd, or Torvain, rises to the N. of Aberystwith, flows S.S.E. through the iron works to Pontypool ; thence it flows past Llantarnan Abbey to Caerleon, where it joins the Usk. The Mon- now rises near the village of Dorston in Herefordshire ; it enters Monmouthshire 3 miles N.W. of Monmouth, and then falls into the Wye. The Trothy and the Honddu join the Monnow. In all these streams there is good fishing, the Wye and the Usk being noted for their salmon. The Monmouth and Brecknock canal, which traverses the county in a N.W. direction, was cut in having a i the valley of the Usk, terminating a little above Crumlin Bridge. The highest peaks in the W. part of the county are the Sugar Loaf, 1,852 feet above the level of the sea, Blorenge, 1,720 feet, Mynydd Maen, 1,563 feet, Skyrrid Vawr, 1,498 feet, and the Black Mountains; in the E. are Beacon Hill, 1,000 feet, and Kymin and Wyiul- cliff, famous for the views to bo seen fmm their summits. In an agricultural point of view Monmouth- shire may be divided into three districts, of which the first comprises the southern portion, consisting partly of large tracts of moor and marsh land, including the great < r part of the hundreds of Wentllooge and Caldicott, where sea walls have been constructed at vast expense to prevent the sea from overflowing the extensive m:i i originally drained by the monks of Goldcliff. The