MONMOUTH--CHURCH, PRIORY, AND CASTLE--THE
KYMIN--WONASTOW-HOUSE--TREOWEN--TROY-HOUSE--TRELECH--PERTHIR--NEWCASTLE--
SCRENFRITH CASTLE--GROSSMONT CASTLE--JOHN OF KENT.
Monmouth is delightfully situated in a gently undulating valley; chiefly
in a high state of cultivation, surrounded by high hills: it occupies a
sort of peninsula formed by the conflux of the Wye and the Monnow; so
that it is nearly incircled by the two rivers. The town is extensive,
and contains many good houses; particularly in a principal broad street,
which extends from the market-place to an old British or Saxon bridge and
gateway over the Monnow. The market-place, with the town-hall over it,
is a handsome building; but sadly disfigured by an awkward statue of
Henry the Fifth, which, no doubt, was intended to ornament it. From this
part a narrow street leads to St. Mary's church, which is also a handsome
modern edifice, chiefly remarkable for its grand lofty spire rising 200
feet from the foundation; the tower of which affords an interesting view
of the surrounding districts. This structure is engrafted upon a Gothic
church that belonged to an Alien Benedictine priory of Black Monks, which
was founded in the reign of Henry the First, and dedicated to the Holy
Virgin. The priory-house forms a large family residence belonging to
Adam Williams, Esq.; and contains an apartment which the legend of the
place declares to have been the library of the celebrated Geoffery of
Monmouth; but the style of the building is by no means so ancient as the
time of Geoffery, who, we find, was consecrated bishop of St. Asaph in
1152.
"The chronicle of Briton's kings
From Brute to Arthur's rayne,"
written by Geoffery, has long excited the attention and controversy of
the leaned: by some it is implicitly believed; and rejected, as
altogether fabulous, by others. The moderate opinion here, as in most
other cases, is the best: this views it as founded on authentic
documents, although distorted by monkish superstition and tricks, and a
taste for the marvellous.
MONMOUTH CASTLE, situated on the banks of the Monnow in the northern part
of the town, exhibits few memorials of its former extent and magnificence
in its present very dilapidated state; and the remaining fragments lose
much of their characteristic dignity from the bricky appearance given by
the red grit stone of which they are constructed. Among these broken
walls are shewn, with no small degree of exultation, traces of the
chamber in which Henry the Fifth, the glory of Monmouth, was born.
Adjoining to this is the ruin of a large apartment, sixty-three feet long
by forty-six wide, which was probably the baronial hall, and in latter
times formed the court of the Assizes. Other vestiges of the castle are
evident among stables and out-houses: some vaults under the house of Mr.
Cecil of the Dyffrin, are of the oldest character, and may be attributed
to Saxon if not to Roman workmanship.
The general building of this castle (though of very remote foundation)
may be considered as posterior to the Civil wars in the third Henry's
reign; when, we learn, the castle of Monmouth was taken and rased to the
ground by Simon Montford, Earl of Leicester. A large mansion on the site
of the castle, built with its materials, and engrafted on its ruins, is
now occupied as a ladies' boarding-school. Soon after the erection of
this house, a Marchioness of Worcester went thither to lie-in of her
first child, at the instance of her grandfather, Henry, first Duke of
Beaufort, who was anxious that his descendant should draw his first
breath "near the same spot of ground and space of air, where our great
hero Henry the Fifth was born."
Near the extremity of the town, by the side of the Monnow, is the county
goal, a new massive stone building, which in its plan, regulations, and
superintendance, does high credit to the pubic spirit of the county.
Without the town, at the foot of the Monnow-bridge, is St. Thomas's
church, a curious old structure which is supposed to have been built by
the Saxons.
Monmouth is supposed by Mr. Horsley to have been a Roman station, the
Blestium of Antoninus. It is a borough and corporate town, governed by a
mayor, and contains about six hundred houses, and two thousand six
hundred inhabitants. Woollen caps were the staple manufacture of
Monmouth when that article was in general use; and Shakspeare's Fluellen
alludes to this fashion: "If your Majesty is remembered of it, the
Welchmen did goot service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks
in their Monmouth caps." But the town has now no manufacture, although
there are some iron and tin works in the neighbourhood: its commerce
depends on the navigation of the Wye, in the distribution of goods
between Bristol, Hereford, and adjoining districts. Yet no small part of
its thriving appearance may be attributed to the numerous gentry that are
induced to fix their residence here from the pleasantness of the
situation.
Chippenham meadow, an agreeable plain, inclosed by the town, the Wye, and
the Monnow, is the general rendezvous of Gwentonian beauty on summer (and
particularly on Sunday) evenings. We had the good fortune to be in
Monmouth on a Sunday, and of course did not neglect to join the
promenade; where many a squire of little manors eyed us with much more
inquiry than cordiality. Their dulcineas,
"Healthful and strong, full as the summer rose
Blown by prevailing suns,"
displayed the vigour of youth and Wales, and possessed decided points of
feminine attraction. But who would leave London to describe female
beauty?
In the vicinity of Monmouth is a remarkably high hill, called the KYMIN,
which rises from the banks of the Wye, on the Gloucestershire side of the
river. A pleasant walk is traced to its summit, from which a wonderful
range of prospect extends to a circumference of near three hundred miles.
It would be tedious to enumerate the multifarious objects that present
themselves in this great prospect: if any one be eminently beautiful, it
is the diversified undulating vale of Monmouth, enlivened by its
picturesque town and spire, and watered by the Wye, the Monnow, and the
Trothy, limpidly meandering through fertile hollows, and at length
uniting, in the course of the former river, at the foot of the hill. At
the top of the Kymin, a handsome pavilion has been lately erected for the
accommodation of parties; its summit is also adorned with a rich wood
called Beaulieu grove, which, descending over part of its precipitous
sides, forms its proudest ornament. Several walks cut through the wood
terminate at the brow of steep declivities, commanding great and
enchanting views; and which in the spring, as I am told, from the
universality of apple orchards in this district, are as singular as they
are beautiful.
There are several antique mansions in the neighbourhood of Monmouth that
deserve notice. About a mile from the town, on the left of the road to
Raglan, is WONASTOW-HOUSE, formerly a residence of a branch of the
Herbert family, {285} which is conjectured to have been built about the
reign of Henry the Sixth. Its situation, on a gentle eminence commanding
many extensive views, is extremely pleasant; and the surrounding
farm-lands still bear traces of its park in several groves of ancient
oaks and elms. The edifice, though much diminished in extent and divided
into two distinct habitations, is still a venerable relic of the times,
and contains several original family portraits. The old chapel belonging
to the mansion is now applied to domestic use.
TREOWEN, situated about a mile further westward, to the north of the road
to Raglan, was once a splendid mansion, built by Inigo Jones, and which
belonged to another scion from the Herbert stock. The position of the
house and grounds, now laid out in a farm, is very delightful, watered by
the meandering Trothy, and still exhibiting a profusion of rich woods.
Though occupied as a farmhouse, and much reduced in dimensions, the
mansion continues to shew many marks of its ancient grandeur, in the
spacious and decorative style of the apartments, a noble staircase of
oak, and its ornamented porch.
TROY-HOUSE, standing within a mile south-east of Monmouth, near the road
to Chepstow, was a residence of a further ramification of the prolific
Herbert race. {287} Part of the ancient residence is visible in a Gothic
gateway; but the house is of a later date, its erection being, as well as
the preceding, attributed to Inigo Jones. Neither the house, though
extensive, nor its situation, in a hollow near the river Trothy, possess
any claim to admiration. Throughout the apartments a large collection of
family pictures is arranged, which contains the portraits of many
distinguished characters, but very few specimens of fine painting. In
the housekeeper's room is a curious oak chimney-piece, brought from
Raglan Castle, carved with scriptural subjects; and in a room on the
third floor is another ancient chimney-piece inlaid with mother-of-pearl,
and curiously ornamented with devices of Love and Plenty.
About three miles further on the road to Chepstow is the village of
TRELECH, which is supposed to have derived its name from three druidical
stones standing in a field adjoining the road, near the church. They are
placed upright, or rather inclining; of different heights, varying
between ten and fifteen feet; and the exterior stones are the one
fourteen, and the other twenty feet distant from the middle pillar: their
substance is a concretion of silicious pebbles in a calcareous bed,
commonly called pudding-stone, and of which some neighbouring rocks
consist. This monument of antiquity is considered to have been the
supporting part of a cromlech; but the stones being so far asunder
invalidates the conjecture. Various large masses of the same sort of
stone in the vicinity of Trelech seem to indicate the remains of other
works of the same kind.
In the village, inclosed by a garden, is an earthen mound four hundred
and fifty feet in diameter, encircled by a moat, and connected with
extensive entrenchments; which is imagined to have been a Roman work, and
afterwards to have been the site of a castle belonging to the Earls of
Clare. The village is also remarkable for a chalybeate well that was
formerly much attended. Near the church, which deserves to be noticed
for the agreeable proportions of its Gothic members and its handsome
spire, is a pedestal with a sun-dial, supposed to be of high antiquity:
it bears a Latin inscription, commemorating Harold's victory over the
Britons. Large quantities of iron scoria, scattered over the fields near
the village, are generally allowed to indicate that a Roman bloomery was
established near the spot.
From this place the road soon ascends the Devaudon height, traverses a
tract of forest called Chepstow Park, and in the course of its progress
embraces several superb and extensive views; in which the varieties of
the Wye, of hanging woods, wild heathy mountains, and rich inclosures,
rise in succession.
We made an excursion from Monmouth, on the road to Hereford, as far as
Grosmont. Proceeding through a charming country about three miles, we
struck off on the right to visit PERTHIR, a very ancient seat of the
Herbert family. Of the castellated mansion, surrounded by a moat and two
drawbridges, few vestiges appear in the present diminished and patched-up
building; yet some marks of former magnificence meet the observer, in a
long vaulted hall, with a music gallery at the end, a large Gothic window
with stone compartments, and the massive oak beams of a long passage.
The extensive manors that were attached to Perthir, and which, as
tradition relates, extended from thence to Ross, now exhibit but a sorry
remnant of past opulence.
Mr. Lorimer, the present possessor of the estate, and a descendant of the
Herberts by the female line, merrily relates an anecdote rising out of a
contest for precedence between the houses of Perthir and Werndee; and
which, it has been remarked, was carried on with as much inveteracy as
that between the houses of York and Lancaster, and was only perhaps less
bloody, as they had not the power of sacrificing the lives of thousands
in their foolish quarrel. Mr. Proger, of Werndee, in company with a
friend, returning from Monmouth to his home, was suddenly overtaken by a
violent storm; and, unable to proceed, groped his way for refuge to his
cousin Powell's, at Perthir. The family was retired to rest; but the
loud calls of the tempest-beaten travellers soon brought Mr. Powell to a
window; and a few words informed him of his relation's predicament;
requesting a night's lodging: "What! is it you, cousin Proger? you and
your friend shall be instantly admitted;--but upon one condition, that
you will never dispute with me hereafter upon my being the head of the
family."--"No, sir," returned Mr. Proger, "were it to rain swords and
daggers, I would drive this night to Werndee; rather than lower the
consequence of my family." Here a string of arguments was brought
forward on each side; which however interesting to the parties, would
prove very trifling in relation; and which, like all other contests
grounded in prejudice and proceeded in with petulance; but served to fix
both parties more firmly in their errors. They parted in the bitterest
enmity; and the stranger, who had silently waited the issue of the
contest, in vain solicited a shelter from the storm; for he was a friend
of cousin Proger's!
Leaving Perthir, we soon passed through the little village of Newcastle,
which derives its name from a castle that may still be traced in an
earthen mound 300 feet in circumference, and some intrenchments, but
whose history no tradition reaches. This barrow, and an ancient oak of
extraordinary size, are considered by the superstitious neighbourhood to
be under the immediate protection of spirits and fairies, and to form the
scene of their nocturnal revels. A spring near the village is deemed
miraculous in the cure of rheumatic and other disorders.
Within a mile from this place we struck off the turnpike towards
SCRENFRITH CASTLE, situated on the banks of the Monnow, in a sequestered
spot environed by high hills. This fortress is of the simplest
construction; its area, of a trapezium form, is merely surrounded by a
curtain wall with circular towers covering each angle, and a demi-turret
projecting from the middle of one side. Near the centre of the area is a
juliet, or high round tower, upon a mound, which formed the keep, the
door and window apertures of which are circularly arched; but the
exterior walls of the castle appear to have been originally only
furnished with oilets or chinks for shooting arrows through. Encumbered
by the lowly habitations of a poor village, it has little claim to
picturesque merit from most points of view; but on the opposite side of
the Monnow, combined with a Gothic bridge of two arches crossing the
stream, it forms a pleasing picture. Screnfrith Castle is allowed to be
the oldest in Monmouthshire; it is certainly of British erection, and is
probably of as remote antiquity as any in Wales.
Screnfrith, Grosmont, and White Castles, formerly defended the lordship
of Overwent; which, extending from the Wye to the Usk, nearly comprised
the whole northern portion of Monmouthshire. This tract of country, with
its castles, fell into the hands of Brian Fitz Count, Earl of Hereford,
who came over with the Conqueror; but soon deviated from his family, and
was afterwards seized by Henry the Third, and conferred on his favourite
Hubert de Burgh. Upon the disgrace of that virtuous and able minister,
the capricious monarch granted the three castles to his son the Earl of
Lancaster; and, with Caldecot castle, they still remain annexed to the
dutchy.
The continuance of our journey to Grossmont, wandering in an irriguous
valley among bye-lanes that were scarcely passable, although it proved
very tedious in travelling, afforded us a succession of the most pleasing
retired scenes imaginable. On our right a diversity of swells and
hollows, variously clad in wild woods or cultivation, extended throughout
our ride, where the lively and transparent Monnow, illumined by
"The noon-tide beams
Which sparkling dances on the trembling stream,"
serpentized its current in endless variety. Immediately on our left, the
Graig, a huge solitary mountain, reared its towering sides from the low
lands in uncontended majesty, and accompanied our road to the pleasing
little village of GROSMONT.
This place stands at the north-eastern limit of Monmouthshire, in an
agreeable undulating valley, diversified with wood and pasture, and
beautifully accompanied by the meandering Monnow, here wantoning its most
fantastic course. On an eminence near the village, and swelling above
the river, is the picturesque ruin of its castle; a pile of no great
extent, but well disposed, and profusely decorated with shrubs and ivy.
The form of the structure is irregular: large circular towers cover the
angles of the ramparts; within which are traces of the baronial hall, and
other apartments, and beyond the mount are some remains of the barbican,
or redoubt, and several entrenchments. All the door and window arches
are pointed Gothic, and of the proportion in use about the thirteenth
century; but the foundation of the castle is supposed to be coeval with
that of Screnfrith's.--Grosmont church is a large Gothic structure, built
in the form of a Roman cross; and, with its octagon tower, and high
tapering spire, is a conspicuous ornament to the village.
Though now an insignificant cluster of habitations, Grosmont was formerly
a town of some note. Many exterior traces of buildings, and raised
causeways, constructed like Roman roads with large blocks of stone,
diverging from it, prove its antique extent and importance to have been
considerable: nor is the legend of the place deficient in asserting its
quondam consequence.
But with still higher interest, with more voluble earnestness, the
natives recount the exploits of their reputed necromancer, JOHN OF KENT.
Among a thousand other instances of his magical skill, they confidently
assure you, that when he was a boy, being ordered to protect some corn
from the birds, he conjured all the crows in the neighbourhood into a
barn without a roof, and by force of his incantations obliged them to
remain there while he visited Grosmont fair. A greater service that he
performed for the country was, his building the bridge over the Monnow in
one night by the agency of one of his familiars. Long did his strange
actions frighten men out of their wits; and at length, dying, he
outwitted the devil; for, in consideration of services while living, he
agreed to surrender himself to his satanic majesty after his death,
whether he was buried in or out of church; but, by ordering his body to
be interred under the church wall, he contrived to slip out of the
contract. A stone in the church-yard, near the chancel, is said to mark
the spot of this interment.
Higher tradition relates, that this extraordinary-personage was a monk,
who, possessing a greater knowledge in natural philosophy than could at
that time be generally comprehended, was reputed a sorcerer. The family
of the Scudamores, at Kentchurch-house, about a mile from Grosmont, where
he became domesticated, had a Latin translation of the Bible written by
him on vellum, but which is now lost. An ancient painting of him upon
wood is, however, preserved in the mansion; and a cellar in the house is
described to have been the stable of his horses; steeds of no vulgar
pedigree, which carried him through the air with more than the speed of
witches.
From a collation of different legends and circumstances, several
respectable enquirers are inclined to believe, that this necromancer was
no other than the famous Owen Glendower; who, after his defeat, and the
dispersion of his army, concealed himself in the disguise of a bard, or
wizard. A strong circumstance which favours this conjecture is, that the
daughter of Glendower married a Scudamore, who at the time occupied
Kentchurch-house. It may also be remarked, that neither the time of the
chief's death, nor the place of his sepulture, were ever positively
ascertained.
Upon our return to Monmouth from this excursion, we had the good fortune
to fall into the company of Mr. Wathen of Hereford, the benefit of whose
local information and obliging assiduities has been felt by numerous
tourists, as well as ourselves. This gentleman pointed out the most
striking beauties of the Wye toward Ross; and of his directions we gladly
availed ourselves the following morning, when we bade adieu to Wales and
Monmouthshire. But, as it is my object to effect a general delineation
of that tract of country, I shall not hesitate to break the thread of my
tour, and suspend a description of the Wye's scenery and some further
continuance of our route, while I traverse the north-western part of
Monmouthshire, and the eastern frontier of South-Wales, which yet remains
unexplored. In this part of my work, I must describe things as they
appeared to me six years since, when I visited this portion of country in
my return from a tour through the North of England and Wales, assisted by
the best documents and observations that I have since been able to
procure.