Monmouth
This is about the Welsh town of Monmouth. For other uses, see Monmouth (disambiguation).
Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy - "tre(f)" town + "Mynwy" river Monnow) is an historic town in south Wales, county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated at the confluence of the River Wye and River Monnow, and hence the name Monmouth is an contraction of 'Monnow Mouth'.
Monmouth boasts a 13th century stone gated bridge, unique in Britain as it is the only preserved bridge of its design remaining. After centuries of waiting a second bridge over the Monnow was finally opened on the 15th March 2004, thus allowing the old bridge to become pedestrianised. This project however has meant the demolition of the old cattle market, thus Monmouth is no longer the market town it has traditionally been, however a farmers' market selling local produce is still held.
Monmouth is very much a town of schools. Apart from the comprehensive school with over 1600 pupils there are 2 independent schools - Monmouth School and Haberdashers Monmouth School for Girls. More details
Some famous people associated with Monmouth include:
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, born in 1090 and wrote Historia Regum Britanniae, the 'History of British Kings'
- Henry V, born in Monmouth castle in 1387, who was immortalised in his victory at Agincourt and the square in the centre of town is named after this battle.
- William Jones, a liveryman of The Haberdashers Company and founder of the town's grammar schools.
- Lord Nelson, who paid two visits to the town and approved a naval temple on the nearby Kymin Hill. Monmouth is home to a large collection of Nelson material.
- Charles Rolls, who lived in Monmouth and was co-founder of the Rolls-Royce company and was the first man to make a non-stop crossing of the English Channel by plane. There is a statue of Charles Rolls in Agincourt square.
