Excavations undertaken by the
Monmouth Archaeological Society on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered details of the early history of the town. The
Council for British Archaeology has designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology.
Prehistoric Evidence of a
Bronze Age boat building community, including three channels adjoining the site of a now-vanished lake, was discovered in September 2013, during archaeological investigations by the
Monmouth Archaeological Society of the
Parc Glyndwr housing development site, immediately north-west of the town. The excavations later revealed the remains of a
Neolithic dwelling. The dwelling was constructed on stilts on a human-made island away from the lake shore in water up to deep. Oak timbers had been "skillfully" cut with stone or flint axes to form stilts, of posts and poles, which "probably" rested on three parallel fully-grown tree 'sleeper beams', up to wide, laid horizontally on the lakebed.
Roman times The first recorded settlement at Monmouth was the small
Roman fort of
Blestium, one of a network of military bases established on the frontiers of the Roman occupation. This was connected
by road to the larger Roman towns at
Glevum (
Gloucester) and
Isca Augusta (
Caerleon). Archaeologists have found
Roman pottery and
coins within the modern town centre. During the later Roman period, between the 2nd and late 4th centuries, it appears to have been a centre for
iron working, using the local
iron ores and
charcoal also worked at nearby
Gobannium (
Abergavenny) and
Ariconium (near
Ross-on-Wye).
The Middle Ages , part of which remains in use as a regimental headquarters and museum , dating from the 16th century, on display at
Monmouth Museum After the
end of Roman rule in Britain, the area was at the southern edge of the
Welsh kingdom of
Ergyng. The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at an unknown location within the town, dedicated to the Welsh
saint Cadoc. In 1056, the area was devastated by the Welsh prince
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, on his way with an army of Welsh,
Saxons and
Danes to defeat
Ralph,
Earl of Hereford, and sack the Saxon
burh at
Hereford, to the north. Charters from the period refer to the town's trade in
iron, and to
forges making use of local
ore and
charcoal. The
cinders produced by the forges formed heaps, and were used in building foundations; the name of Cinderhill Street in Overmonnow dates from this period. During the period of turmoil between the supporters of King
Henry III and the barons who sought to curtail his power, the town was the scene of a major
battle in 1233, in which the king's forces were routed by the troops of
Richard Marshal,
Earl of Pembroke. Later, the castle was extended by Henry's son
Edmund Crouchback, after he became
Earl of Lancaster in 1267. King
Edward II was briefly imprisoned at Monmouth Castle in 1326 after being overthrown by his wife
Isabella and her lover
Roger Mortimer. In the mid 14th century, the castle and town came into the possession of the
House of Lancaster through the marriage of
John of Gaunt to
Blanche of Lancaster. John of Gaunt strengthened the castle, adding the great hall, and the castle became a favourite residence of the House of Lancaster. In 1386, John of Gaunt's grandson was born to
Mary de Bohun, in the Queen's Chamber within the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, while his father
Henry Bolingbroke was
hunting in the area. The boy was known as Henry of Monmouth before his coronation as
Henry V; supported by
longbowmen from the area, he won the
Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Monmouth's links with Henry are commemorated in the naming of the main town square,
Agincourt Square, and in the statue of Henry on the front of the
Shire Hall. From the 14th century onwards, the town became noted for the production of
woollen
Monmouth caps. Monmouth, as a border town and administrative centre, suffered after nearby areas, including
Usk and
Grosmont, were devastated through
attacks by supporters of
Owain Glyndŵr after the battle and during 1405. Monmouth castle was
slighted after the wars ended, but the town itself grew in prosperity.
Great Castle House, built in 1673, is now the home of the
Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), the oldest regiment in the
British Army. The
Shire Hall was built in 1724, and was used for the local
Assizes, with the area beneath the building serving as the town market.
Modern era of
Charles Rolls at Shire Hall The town was visited in 1802 by
Admiral Horatio Nelson, who knew the importance of the area's woodland in providing timber for the
British Navy and approved a Naval Temple built in his honour on the nearby
Kymin Hill. Wooden ships up to 500 tons were built at a shipyard just south of Monmouth bridge until the
new bridge at
Chepstow was opened in 1816.
Priory Street, the town's first bypass, was built in the 1830s, with the town slaughterhouse beneath. In 1840, at Monmouth's Shire Hall,
Chartist protesters
John Frost,
Zephaniah Williams and
William Jones became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be
hanged, drawn and quartered after being found guilty of
treason following
riots in Newport that led to 20 deaths. The sentences were later commuted to
transportation to
Van Diemen's Land. The appointed constables held office for a year and were often men who had experience in other local government or community roles. William Fuller who held office as Monmouth's constable for over twenty years in the early to mid 19th century, also served as Inspector of Nuisances, Chief of the Fire Brigade, Inspector of Weights and Measures, Clerk of the Market, and Conservator of the Wye. In 1896 a
hydroelectric power station was built on the River Monnow at Osbaston, providing electrical power to the town until 1953. A
new hydroelectric station was built on the same site and has operated since 2009, typically generating 670,000kWh annually. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Monmouth had close links with the
Rolls family, who built a mansion at
The Hendre just outside the town. In 1904,
Charles Rolls established a new
car making business with
Henry Royce, but in 1910 he was killed in an aeroplane crash at the age of 32; he is commemorated by a
statue in Agincourt Square. St Mary's Church contains a memorial to the men of who died in
HMS Monmouth, which was sunk with all hands on 1 November 1914, by German cruisers
SMS Scharnhorst and
SMS Gneisenau off the
Chilean Coast at the
Battle of Coronel during the
First World War; the church hosts an annual service in remembrance. Seven
Royal Navy ships have been named after the town, including a
Type 23 frigate launched in 1991 which is still in operation. The remains of two
pillboxes stand on the Wyesham side of the Wye Bridge. They were built in 1940/1 as part of the
Western Command Stop Line No. 27, designed to impede a German invasion force. Monmouth remained a relatively quiet town for most of the 20th century; its passenger rail services ended in 1959, but its road connections were improved with the new
A40 bypassing the town in 1966, although this "severed the town ruthlessly from the river on which in the past it had depended", and later connecting the town to the motorway system. These improved communications contributed to the development of the town, with suburbs extending beyond the rivers
Wye and
Monnow to the south-east, west and north of the old town centre. On 15th December 2025 the River Monnow burst its banks and unprecedented floods, 'the worst in fifty years' inundated large parts of the town. In response, a major incident was declared. ==Monmouthpedia==