Portskewett

at Heston Brake, by Mary Ellen Bagnall Oakeley (1888) Heston Brake At the eastern edge of the village, in a privately owned field opposite Black Rock Road, very near to the Leechpool turn, is evidence of a significant neolithic chambered tomb or long barrow. A small group of puddingstones mark the entrance of the site known as Heston Brake. Human skeletons, cattle bones and some pottery were discovered in the chamber when it was excavated in 1888. The stones can be reached by following the public footpath accessed via the kissing gate which is situated on the left about from the main road toward Leechpool. In his 1954 Monmouthshire Sketch Book Hando writes: "Garn Llwyd, Gwern-y-Cleppa and Heston Brake are our three outstanding dolmens". Roman remains There is some evidence of a Roman villa, with possible British Iron Age antecedents. There are also remains of a late Roman temple on Portskewett Hill, and many coins of the 3rd and 4th centuries have been found. Early Welsh history The name Portskewett is generally believed to derive from the Welsh Porth-is-Coed, meaning "the harbour below the wood", or alternatively "the harbour of the area below the wood" - that is, the post-Roman cantref of Gwent Is Coed, centred on Caerwent about 3 miles away. Portskewett is mentioned in ancient Welsh stories as one of the three chief ports of Wales. A Welsh poem of around the 7th century, Moliant Cadwallon, describes it as "beautiful Porth Esgewin, the estuary on the border", and the medieval Welsh phrase meaning from one end of the country to another translates as "from Porth Wygyr to Portskewett". Later history After the Norman conquest the area became a "hardwick" or cattle ranch. The parish church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building. The original parts of the church date back to the late 11th century and are made of local limestone; the carved crosses on the blocked up back doorway could be even older. The church has been restored and altered on a number of occasions. The small windows in the upper part of the tower, for example, are typical of the 16th century. In the corner of the churchyard can be seen the steps which formed the base of a medieval churchyard cross. The village lost its railway station (on the Newport to Gloucester line) when it was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964. ==Black Rock==

as viewed from Black Rock Black Rock, on the Severn Estuary immediately south east of the village, has been an important crossing point of the River Severn for many centuries. Numerous coins found in the mud show that it was in constant use throughout the Roman period, on the route between Aquae Sulis (Bath) and Venta Silurum (Caerwent). New Passage Ferry pier By the 18th century, a regular ferry service crossed the Severn estuary from Black Rock to New Passage on the Bristol side, carrying passengers, cattle and iron ore. Lave net fishery At Black Rock a traditional method of fishing for salmon with lave nets is practised. The fishermen, who come from local villages, are the last such in Wales. They actively promote the fishery as a tourist attraction, with the aim of maintaining its history and tradition. Demonstrations of the lave net fishing are given on certain days from the picnic site. The estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world (traditionally reported as the second highest though more recently reckoned to be third highest), which enables the fishermen to wade out at low tide with nets on shoulders to traditional fishing grounds, with the water up to their waists. The net is then opened and lowered into the outgoing tide which rushes through the net. With his fingers placed at the bottom meshes of the net, the fisherman then waits for the fish to hit the net. The net is made in a traditional way by means of a Y-shaped structure consisting of two arms called rimes which are made from locally cut willow that acts as a frame work to the loosely hung net. The handle is called the rock staff and is made of ash or willow and the arms are hinged to the rock staff and are kept in position while fishing with a wooden spreader called the headboard. In 2020 the lave fishermen of Black Rock were featured on BBC One's Countryfile programme. In 2021, the fishermen reduced their activities as a result of what they claimed to be unfair pressure from Natural Resources Wales to reduce their catch. ==Governance==

Portskewett is also the name of the electoral ward, coterminous with the community. The ward elects a county councillor to Monmouthshire County Council. The Welsh Conservatives' Peter Fox has been councillor since 1999 and is leader of the county council. ==References==