Monnow Bridge

Monmouth was a significant settlement in Roman Britain, as the border fort of Blestium[1] and as an important centre for ironworking.[2] It is possible the Romans bridged the River Wye during their occupation, but the Monnow appears not to have had a crossing until after the Norman invasion.[3] The Norman lord William FitzOsbern built a castle near the confluence of the two rivers[4] in around 1070.[1] The following two centuries saw the establishment of the Benedictine Priory[5] and the development of the town as a defensive location on the Welsh Marches.[6]

The original bridge over the Monnow at Monmouth was constructed of wood in the mid-12th century.[7] In 1988, work on flood defences revealed remains of the wooden bridge directly under the existing one,[8] and dendrochronological analysis indicated that its timber came from trees felled between 1123 and 1169.[9][lower-alpha 1] An early account in the Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover may indicate that the wooden bridge and the nearby Church of St Thomas the Martyr were damaged by fire in the Battle of Monmouth in 1233, fought between supporters of Henry III and the forces of Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke.[11] Both the site of the battle and the specific bridge involved are debated—the local historian Keith Kissack argued that the battle was fought on Vauxhall Fields, below Monmouth Castle and some way from Monnow Bridge,[12] while other modern historians continue to place the battle at Overmonnow.[13][14]

The stone bridge was completed in the late 13th century. It was traditionally thought to have been built in 1272, though this date has no supporting documentary evidence.[15][lower-alpha 2] The historian William Coxe incorrectly described the bridge as pre-dating the Norman Conquest and recorded that "it commanded the passage of the Monnow and was a barrier against the Welsh".[17] In 1804, the Monmouth antiquarian Charles Heath wrote that the bridge's "foundation is so ancient that neither history or tradition afford any light respecting the date of its erection".[18] Heath drew directly from The Antiquities of England and Wales, an earlier guide by Francis Grose, published in 1773.[19] The archaeologist Martin Cook notes the significance of the date 1270 as the start of a period that saw increased bridge-building, as a result of the rapid growth of international trade.[20][lower-alpha 3] The civil engineer Edwyn Jervoise suggested that the absence of an evidential record was due to the destruction of the archives of the Duke of Beaufort at Raglan Castle in the 17th century.[22] This is unlikely, as the gatehouse did not come into the possession of the duke's family, the Somersets, until the 19th century.[23][lower-alpha 4]

The gatehouse, called Monnow Gate, which gives Monnow Bridge its now unique appearance, was added at the end of the 13th or start of the 14th centuries, twenty-five to thirty years after the bridge itself was built.[16] The siting of the gatehouse mid-channel is relatively unusual; the archaeologist David Harrison notes the more common arrangement was for the gate to be situated on the roadway at one end of the bridge.[25] In 1297, Edward I provided a murage grant in favour of Monmouth in response to a request from his nephew, Henry of Lancaster. A murage was a medieval tax, granted specifically to allow for the raising of funds to construct or repair town walls.[lower-alpha 5] The grant allowed the townspeople to build the town walls and gates, including the construction of the gatehouse.[15] By 1315, work was incomplete or required repair, as the original authority was renewed on 1 June of that year. At that time, the bridge would have been much narrower than now, with all traffic passing beneath a single arch. The arch was protected by a portcullis, whose associated grooves are still visible. The prominent arched machicolations, defensive apertures through which stones or other material could be dropped on attackers, were added at an unknown date in the medieval period, possibly in the late 14th century.[27] The gate formed part of the town's defensive walls.[28] The cartographer John Speed's map of 1610 shows walls only on the northern side of the town, which lies unprotected by either the Monnow or the Wye, but the archaeologist Ian Soulsby suggests it is "inconceivable" that Monnow Gate, and another gate shown by Speed leading out onto Chippenham Mead, stood alone.[29]

John Speed's 1610 map showing Monmouth's fortifications, with Monnow Bridge and Gate between A and C

As well as its defensive role, the gatehouse served as a barrier to allow for the collection of tolls from those attending markets. Tolls were authorised in the Patent Rolls of 1297 and 1315 and in subsequent town charters.[30] Kissack gives details of the wide variety of items on which tariffs were levied in his reproduction of the charter of 1297. These included "five fat hogs, (a) horse-load of honey and a thousand (roofing) nails".[31] In 1447 Henry VI granted the town a Charter of Incorporation which enabled further development.[32]

Historians have debated whether defence or revenue collection was the gatehouse's primary purpose. The Victorian antiquarian Mary Ellen Bagnall-Oakeley, who wrote the first history of the bridge and gate in 1902, described the gatehouse as "a little fortress complete in itself, though of course, useless in time of war".[33] Her account contended that the "tower was not in any way connected with the fortification walls of the town"[34] and that the gatehouse was erected solely "for the purpose of taking tolls".[34] The Monmouthshire antiquarian Joseph Bradney, in the first volume of his A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time, concurred; "the bridge is a curious structure which appears to have been more for the purpose of collecting tolls than anything else, though as a defence to the town outside the walls it might be of some help".[35] Kissack follows their arguments, noting that the gatehouse was ineffective in defensive terms, as the Monnow could easily be crossed on foot upstream.[36] More recent commentators disagree; Soulsby considered the bridge to have a clear defensive purpose,[37] and Michael Rowlands, author of the most recent history of the bridge and gatehouse, argued that the bridge and gatehouse met the dual aims of defensive protection and the collection of tolls.[38]

Neither Monmouth nor its castle were attacked in the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr between 1400 and 1415, although nearby Abergavenny and Grosmont were burned down in the uprising. The unrest of the period had a negative impact on the development of the town.[39] But the bridge continued its important function as a toll-gate. Philip Jones, Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs in 1589, bequeathed an annual sum of about £120, the rent from his lands and houses at 'Bayliepitte', to the mayor and bailiffs of Monmouth on condition that the borough exempt those people passing through the gate or coming into Monmouth with cattle from paying tolls on fair days.[40]

In the 16th century, the antiquarian John Leland described the bridge in one of his Itineraries: "From Monk's Gate the wall extends Westwards to the river Monnow. In the wall are four gates: Monk's Gate, East Gate and Wye Gate ... and Monnow Gate which is above the bridge crossing the river Monnow."[41] A visual depiction of the bridge and gate is included in John Speed's work The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain, published in 1611. His map of Monmouthshire includes an inset map of the town that shows the Monnow Bridge and Gate as well as a similar gatehouse on the Wye Bridge.[lower-alpha 6][43]

Sketch by J. M. W. Turner, 1795

In the English Civil War, the town changed hands several times, and in 1645 the bridge was seized by Royalist soldiers from Raglan in a failed attempt to retake the town from the Parliamentarian forces under Colonel Kyrle.[44] Kissack describes the engagement as "the most resolute Royalist attack made (on) Monmouth", which saw eight of Kyrle's opponents killed and five captured.[44] By 1705, the bridge and gatehouse required maintenance: the original battlements were replaced with solid walls, and the building was refitted to form a two-storey dwelling house[45] with timber and lath extensions projecting over the river.[46] The house was then leased to a resident gatekeeper, responsible for repairing and maintaining the building. Part of the gatehouse remained in use as a lock-up.[47] Such multiple uses were not uncommon; the archaeologist C. J. Bond recorded that "gates often included chambers which could be used for lock-ups, chapels or meeting rooms".[48] Both the bridge and the gatehouse were again repaired between 1771 and 1775. The bill for repairs included the cost of 100 gallons of ale for the workmen employed.[49] Trade continued to be central to the importance of the bridge. The Monmouthshire writer and artist Fred Hando records that, on a single Saturday in the early 18th century, "500 horses each carrying five bushels of corn entered by way of the Monnow gate".[50]

The bridge and gatehouse in 1818, drawn by Copley Fielding

In 1804, Charles Heath recorded, "The interior has nothing worthy of attention and the only purpose to which it is employed is an occasional guardhouse, or powder room, for the military, when stationed at Monmouth."[18] The gatehouse had by this point been abandoned as a dwelling.[51] The lean-to extensions, including the guardhouse, were demolished around 1815.[52] In 1819, a pedestrian passageway was driven through the building on the upstream side[15] to help relieve the flow of traffic across the bridge. Before 1830, the gatehouse was owned by Monmouth Corporation, and subsequently the County Council, as inheritors of the medieval burgesses.[53] In a lengthy transaction, begun that year but not concluded until 1835,[54] ownership was formally transferred to the Duke of Beaufort as part of a property exchange.[23] The gatehouse roof was reconstructed in 1832, with deeper eaves and four decorative corbels on each side. A second passageway was added on the downstream side of the arch in 1845.[15] Since then, the structure has remained essentially unchanged, save for periodic maintenance and repair.[46]

In 1839, at the time of the Newport Rising, the gatehouse was garrisoned as the authorities feared a Chartist attack on Monmouth.[55] Later guidebooks suggest that the three loopholes visible on the tower were opened up at this time "for musketry in anticipation of the advance of the Chartists",[56] but Rowlands shows that the apertures are visible in illustrations of the gatehouse long before 1839.[57]

The gatehouse was the scene of annual battles, or "muntlings", between rival gangs from "Up-Town" – the main town of Monmouth – and Overmonnow or "Cappers' Town", so called because it was the traditional home of those who made Monmouth caps.[58] Until the confrontations were banned in 1858,[59] youths from both sides of the bridge would gather for these occasions on 1 and 29 May, armed with besoms or "muntles" reinforced with stones.[60] The bridge was also used as an unofficial advertising hoarding and as a focus for significant local and national celebrations. In 1891, it was decorated with flags and lights to commemorate the coming of age of John Maclean Rolls, eldest son of Monmouthshire grandee Lord Llangattock.[61]

From 1889 to 1902, an extensive programme of conservation was carried out on the bridge and gate, directed by Monmouthshire County Council, which retained responsibility for maintenance.[62] This began with the prevention of the potential collapse of the gatehouse by the insertion of metal tie rods to hold the two faces of the tower together; the four round plates at the ends of these two rods can still be seen.[62] In 1892, conservation work began on the arches and piers of the bridge following the discovery that riverbed erosion had seriously undermined the piers.[62] Maintenance was carried out on the gatehouse exterior from the mid-1890s to 1897. Roof guttering and downpipes were added, badly eroded stone was replaced with squared blocks of Old Red Sandstone, and the cruciform arrowslit on the left-hand side of the west elevation of the gatehouse was restored to make it symmetrical.[63][lower-alpha 7] Concluding the 1889–1902 renovations, improvements were made to the interior of the gatehouse, and it was opened to the public in 1902.[65]

In 1900, ownership of the gatehouse was transferred from Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort to Monmouthshire County Council as part of the disposal of the entirety of the Somersets' land holdings in Monmouthshire. The gift is recorded on a brass plaque attached to the gatehouse.[54] The local antiquarian Mary Ellen Bagnall-Oakeley wrote the first history of the bridge and gatehouse, Monnow Bridge Tower, which appeared in 1903.[65][lower-alpha 8] In April 1893, the first street light was erected on the bridge by the town council. In the late 1920s, the top portion of this light was replaced by twin electric lamps. In the 1960s, the lamps were removed completely, and since 1991 the bridge has been floodlit.[66]

Monnow Bridge and Gatehouse, c. 1866

In 1963, Fred Hando, who recorded points of interest and history around Monmouthshire in a series of articles for the South Wales Argus between the 1920s and the 1960s, wrote a description of the gatehouse, referencing the small museum then located in the upstairs room.[55] Hando mentions the "beautifully executed" copies of the patent rolls issued by Edward I in 1296-7 and by Edward II in 1315 which recorded the items on which tolls could be levied to fund the fortifications for Monmouth.[55]

In the 20th century, the greater volume of traffic using the humpbacked bridge, which had poor visibility and narrow approach roads, led to a rise in accidents and an increase in bypass proposals. The desire of local authorities to clear carriageways of obstructions to traffic led to the demolition of many similar bridge towers from as early as the 18th century.[67] The bridge and gate were formally protected as an Ancient Monument in 1923, and proposals for a new road bridge began to be made about the same time.[68] The new A40, built during 1965–1966, relieved the town of much through traffic, and a town centre plan, prepared by the District Council in 1981, again proposed a new bridge. Repairs had to be undertaken in 1982 following a collision on 18 May in which a double-decker bus struck the bridge, resulting in its closure for a month.[69] Damage to the bridge and gate through accidents continued, and in the early 1990s, two drivers were prosecuted after crossing the bridge with vehicles significantly exceeding the weight and height limits.[70]

In 1999, the engineers Ove Arup and Partners undertook a feasibility study for a bridge downstream from the Monnow Bridge, but the scheme was not progressed at that time.[71] Both the County and Town Councils remained committed to the construction of a new crossing to support the economic development of the town, and in 2003 local authority funding of £1.3 million was secured and construction commenced.[72] The new bridge opened on 15 March 2004 for local traffic, allowing the old bridge to become pedestrianised.[73][74] The closure to traffic also enabled a significant repair programme to be undertaken, in part funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.[75] After further conservation and repair, the gatehouse was formally re-opened in 2014, allowing public access on one day per week.[76]