THE PROVINCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CVII:–THE WELSH MARCH :---MONMOUTHSHIRE AND HEREFORDSHIRE.—THE TOWNS.

THE towns of Usk and Abergavenny which arose on or near the sites of the Roman stations of RI:MAIM% and GOBANNIUM need not occupy our attention long, for they are now insignificant places. Usk is a collection of (for the most part) detached houses interspersed with gardens and orchards, on the left bank

of the river of the same name, at its junction with the Olwy, twelve miles south-west from Monmouth, at a point "where the undulations of a hilly district terminate in the fertile vale of Usk." The only. conjectured vestiges of the Roman station are " certain rectilinear swellings of banks." The town which succeeded seems once to have been of considerable extent.

digging wells and making foundations for buildings, three ranges of pavement have been discovered, and in the adjacent fields pitched roads traced, which are supposed to have been streets of the town." On a height adjoining the town are the considerable ruins of what was once a very important castle, belonging to the Mortimers, and through them passing to the Crown. This was the private residence of Richard, Duke of York, father of Edward IV., who, as well as his brother Richard HI., was born within the walls. It afterwards became the property of the Earls of Pembroke, and passed to the Somersets, Dukes of Beaufort. The earliest charter of the borough dates from 1398, but it has long ceased to be governed under charter, the local authority now being vested in a portreeve, chosen annually, a recorder, two bailiffs, four constables, and an undefined number of burgesses. It has returned a representative to the House of Commons, conjointly with Monmouth and Newport, since 1536. The church, which appears to have belonged to an ancient priory (of which there are still remains), is assigned by some to the Norman period. A free grammar school was founded in 1624, and there are other modern schools, and a town hall erected by the chief of the Somersets. It is a market town, but has no commerce, its population in 1861 reaching only 1,545.

Abergavenny is, as its name indicates, at the "mouth of the Gavenny" (which river flows by the outskirts of the town and falls into the Usk), in some gently sloping meadows, at the foot of high hills, 14 miles west by north from Monmouth, in the midst of very beautiful scenery. A castle, the remains of which (on an eminence near the south end of the town) still testify to its. former extent and importance, is said to have originated in a fortress erected soon after the Norman Conquest, by Hameline Foz-Drue de Baladun, one of the barons who carved out for themselves a position in Wales by the sword. The castle was in the time of John in the hands of the Braose family, from whom it passed to that of Hastings, from them to the family of Beauchamp, and thence to the Nevilles, from whom it passed by a compulsory surrender to Henry VII. This King granted it to his uncle, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of Bedford ; but it reverted to the Crown, and was restored by Henry VIII. to the Nevilles, one of whom was (after a protracted family law-suit) summoned by the King to Parliament in 1605 as Baron Abergavenny ; and to this barony were added an Earldom and Viscountcy in the same family in 1784.

The borough was incorporated at an early date, but forfeited its charter in the beginning of the reign of William III., for disaffection to the Government of the Revolution. Its decline in prosperity is attributed by some to this cause ; but it seems more probable that it arose from the impositions practised by the inhabitants in the manufacture of flannels, for which the place was celebrated, the sheep of the neighbouring hills supplying a fine wool. Longtown in Montgomeryshire by greater honesty of dealing supplanted Abergavenny in this manufacture. The general introduction of machinery destroyed a manufacture of narrow cloth in the borough. An extensive manufacture of shoes, which were sent to Bristol, also fell into decay ; and an attempt to make the town a wateringplace, on the strength of goats' whey, proved only transiently successful. It has still some branches of woollen manufacture, but its present dependence is chiefly on some very extensive ironworks in the vicinity. A free grammar-school was founded in the reign of Henry VIII. There are the remains of a Benedictine priory, founded soon after the Conquest, and an old and interesting and spacious church. The population in 1851 was 4,797, but it had declined in 1861 to 4,621.

Newport, which is now the leading town of Monmouthshire, was originally, as its name implies, the port of the river Usk (four miles from the mouth of which it stands), in succession to some other place whose position as a port had been destroyed by natural or other causes. At any rate, there can be little doubt that it was the New Port to Caerleon. By the Welsh it was called Castell Newydd or New Castle, from the castle which commanded the river at this point, and overawed the neighbouring district. The building of this castle, of which some interesting remains are BUB to be seen near the bridge, is attributed to Robert Earl of Gloucester, the celebrated natural son of Henry I., and the great defender of the cause of the Empress Matilda and her son Henry.

A square tower which seems to have been the keep and part of the great hall have remained down to modern times, the latter being used as a brewery. A castle certainly existed at Newport in the year

1173. Newport was once included within the lordship of Glaniorgan, which comprised the country between the rivers Usk and Neath, and was conqured from the Welsh in the reign of William Rufus, by Robert FitzHamon, whose daughter and heiress married the Earl of Gloucester. This Earl's son and successor, William, dying in 1173, without male issue, Newport and its castle passed to Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford, the husband of his daughter Amicia. The great Clare property was divided among heiresses on the death of Gilbert, the "Red Earl," in 1313, and passed through the Audley family and another heiress, to the great family of the Staffords, Earls of that name, and afterwards Dukes of Buckingham. The town and castle of Newport, together with the lordship of Wentloog—a present hundred of Monmouthshire—continued in this family till the execution and attainder of Edward, the third Duke, when they were confiscated by Henry VIII. The castle was afterwards sold or granted to the Ilerberts of St. Julian's, and passed from them by marriage to Lord Herbert of Cherbury. From that family it passed through the Earl of Fowls and various private hands, until, with the manor of Newport, it became the property of the Duke of Beaufort.

The castle was once defended by a moat and walls on the town \ side, and the town itself was surrounded by walls, though no %vestiges now remain. Three gates are mentioned by Leland as existing in his time, of which the sites of the eastern and western were traceable at the commencement of the present century. Another building which descended to modern times was the Murenger's House, the spacious dwelling of the officer appointed to superintend the walls and collect a toll for their repair. As early, however, as the reign of Edward II. the burgesses were exempted from the Murage toll. The town was long, narrow, and straggling, built partly on a flat on the banks of the Usk, partly on a declivity. On an eminence south from the town is the old parish church of St. Woollos, "with a square tower, apparently of Norman architecture, though much altered." Leland (temp. Henry VIII.) mentions a house of religion in Newport, "by the quay, beneath the bridge," and the remains still exist near the banks of the Usk, below the bridge.

Newport received a charter of incorporation in the reign of Edward III., which was confirmed by one of James I. The town, through its connection with the Glares, Earls of Gloucester, became involved in the civil contests of the reign of Henry III., and on the secession of the Earl from the popular party the town and castle were occupied by Simon de Montfort, who sent for vessels to convey him and his army thence to Bristol. The inhabitants (following the example of those of Monmouth and Usk, which had been successively occupied and abandoned by De Montfort) seem to have stood by their earl, and, giving Gloucester information of the design, he placed three galleys at the mouth of the Usk, which sank or dispersed De Montfort's boats ; and the 'latter, after burning the bridge, retreated to Hereford ; and Henry III. is said to have built the tower of the church in gratitude for the loyalty of the inhabitants of Newport. Leland speaks of it as in his time "a town in ruin," but other accounts do not support this statement, and it was during this reign (Henry VIII.) that Newport first sent a representative (jointly with Monmouth and Usk) to the House of Commons. Notwithstanding, however, its excellent position in a commercial point of view, the port was still insignificant in respect of population at the commencement of the present century. It had then only 221 houses and 1,087 inhabitants. Since that time, however, its prosperity has greatly increased and is still increasing, the population of the borough amounting in 1861 to 23,249. It is extensively engaged in the iron and tin trade and in the export of coals, the Monmouthshire canal and several tramroads connecting the port with Pontypool, Crumlin, and the great ironworks. New docks and wharves have sprung up, and there is railway communication with the West of England and London. "The river is navigable for sea-going ships close up to the town, and considerable shipbuilding is carried on. The iron foundries are on a large scale, and there are nail factories, roperies, breweries, and a pretty extensive pottery."

Chepstow—the last town in Monmouthshire which we refer to —is situated in a deep hollow enclosed by over-hanging hills, and "Occupies the side of a declivity shelving to the right bank of the Wye, which here bends in a semicircular form." It is 2 miles from the point at which that river empties itself into the Severn, the tide running so rapidly between the steep cliffs as to render the Passage at times a little dangerous. On a steep cliff over hanging the Wye are the extensive ruins ofIP-, " Of the which can be carried back to the Norman period, titttio,,,* she any of the present ruins belong to that century. "The del , has a fine Norman entrance, and several curious specimens of the — early pointed style."

There may have been a Roman station, at or near Chepstow, to command the river Wye ; but there is nothing to identify the site with that of any erections of that period. The name, —" a place of traffic,"—seems to point at any rate to a settle ment as existing during the Saxon period. A castle here

is mentioned in Domesday Book by the name of Estrighoiel, and appears in ancient deeds and charters as Striogul, Strigoil,

Striguil, Strigul, or Strighil. There was also a castellated mansion, called Striguil, on the borders of Wentwood, built by Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, which seems to have preserved the old name, which had been superseded by that

of Chepstow in the case of the earlier fortress. According to Domesday Book, the castle of Estrighoiel was built by Earl William, i. c., William FitzOsborne, Earl of Hereford, one of

the most distinguished of the Conqueror's companions in arms. This Earl's son, Roger, forfeited all his estates, and we find the castle, in the reign of Henry I., in the possession of Gilbert, brother of Richard, Earl of Clare, who, in the reign of Henry II., was created Earl of Pembroke, and is often styled Earl of

Striguil. His son and successor was the celebrated Strongbow of

Irish renown, who is also called Earl of Striguil. On his death, in 1176, without male issue, the castle, town, and manor of Striguil passed with his daughter Isabella to her husband, William, Marshal of England, created Earl of Pembroke. This was the celebrated Earl who was the great prop of John's Crown, though he sympathized with the cause of the Barons in their Charter struggle, and who became Protector of England during the minority of Henry III. After his death and those of his five sons, the castle and borough of Striguil passed with his eldest daughter Maud to her husband Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. His grandson, Roger, surrendered his possessions to the King, in order to deprive his brother John of the succession, and received them back with a limitation to his own issue ; but dying childless, Edward II. granted the earldom of Norfolk and the

estates to his brother, Thomas Plantagenet, surnamed "De

Brotherton." The castle and manor of Striguil, with the town of Chepstow, were on his death assigned to his widow, Mary, as part of her dowry ; and on her death were given to her daughter Margaret, wife of Sir Walter Manny, and afterwards created Duchess of Norfolk. They passed through her daughters, first to Hastings, Earl of Pembroke and Baron of Abergavenny, and afterwards to the Mowbrays, who were Earls-Marshal of England, and Earls and afterwards Dukes of Norfolk.

John de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, grandson of the well

known Mowbray of the reign of Richard II., the challenger of Henry Bolingbroke, lost possession of the castle, manor, and lord

ship of Chepstow, whether by sale or otherwise we do not know, since we find them in the possession of William Hubert, Earl of Pembroke, at the time of his death. They passed with his daughter Elizabeth to her husband, Sir Charles Somerset, created Lord Hubert of Raglan, Chepstow, and Gower, and afterwards Earl'of NVorcester.

The town of Chepstow, according to Leland, was once "very strongly walled, as yet well doth appear. The walls began at the great bridge over the Wye, and so came to the castle, which yet staudeth fair and strong, not far from the ruins of the bridge. A great likelihood is that when Caergwent began to decay, then began Chepstow to flourish." According to tradition, this bridge was half a mile higher up the river than the later one,— at a place called Eddis. In the civil wars of the reign of Charles I., Chepstow was garrisoned for the King, but in 1645 Colonel Morgan made himself master of it for the Parliament. It was taken by surprise by the Royalists, under Sir Nicholas Kemeys, during the absence of the Governor ; and retaken by storm by Colonel Ewer, or Eure, Sir Nicholas being killed in the assault. The castle and park of Chepstow were given by the Parliament to Oliver Cromwell, but restored on the Restoration to the Marquis of Worcester, and afterwards remained with the Somerset family. Harry Marten was confined in the castle after the Restoration. His restraint was after a time, however, relaxed, so far as to allow him to visit in the town of Chepstow and the neighbourhood (though with a guard). Living thus he attained the age of 78, and was buried in the parish church of Chepstow. Over him was placed a stone with an inscription, written by himself, and breathing his indomitable spirit ; which memorial "remained there till one of the succeeding

often to cm,"'.6.2ea;the altar, removed the stone into the body of miso"'!.larc‘11."

--dCitepstow has no manufactures, but a considerable trade in connection with the Wye towns ; and shipbuilding is carried on to some extent. Its population in 1861 was 3,364.