The mead has also been known as Chippenham Fields, Chippenham Park, Chippenham Gate and Monmouth Sports Ground. Between 1734 and 1893, Chippenham was used annually for horse racing. Sometime between 1893 and 1900, the racing moved to Vauxhall Fields, where it ended in 1933.[1] This brought an end to almost 200 years of racing in Monmouth. Early race cards from newspapers, such as the London Evening Post refer to the course as Chippenham Mead. Initially, the event spanned five days but was later reduced to a two-day event by 1880.[2] For example, the Monmouth races held on September 22 and 23 in 1870, and were a regular two-day annual event in the late 1860s and early 1870s,. The Great Western Railway often advertised "CHEAP RETURN TICKETS" for the special event.[3][4][5]
1880 OS map showing the Winning Post and grandstand locationsMonmouth Races 1734
Between 1876 and 1880, the race meet did not take place. On Tuesday 28 September 1880, the races returned. The Western Mail newspaper of 31 July 1880 heralded the return of Monmouth races and claimed that "Monmouth races were among the oldest in England, for in the Calender[sic?] printed by order of his Most Gracious Majesty dated 1739, we find two days good racing accounted for at the town of Monmouth".[6]
In 1925, a single engined Avro504K bi-plane registered as G-EATB crashed landed on Chippenham Mead. The circumstances surrounding the incident are not known.[7]
Chippenham Sports Ground, also known as Little Chippenham, is run by Monmouth Sports Association and is made up of and used by Monmouth Tennis Club, Monmouth Bowls Club[9] and bowling green, Monmouth Cricket Club,[10]Monmouth Rugby Football Club[11] and Monmouth Town F.C., known as The Kingfishers.[12] It is the Welsh base for Cricketers with a Disability.[13]
In 2021 a new children's play area was opened on the mead, and the old site, closer to the dual carriageway, was returned to grassland.[14][15]
Gallery
Chippenham Park
Sports Ground field and club house, with the bowling green to the left
Monmouth is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, two miles from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8,877 in 2001. Monmouth was the county town of historic Monmouthshire, although Abergavenny is the largest settlement and Monmouthshire County Council has its main offices at Rhadyr, just outside Usk. Monmouth is in the UK Parliament constituency of Monmouthshire and the Senedd constituency of Monmouth.
Chepstow is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about 2 miles (3 km) above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the Severn Bridge. It is the easternmost settlement in Wales, situated 16 miles (26 km) east of Newport, 28 miles (45 km) east-northeast of Cardiff, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Bristol and 110 miles (180 km) west of London.
Monmouthshire is a county in the south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the south, and Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west. The largest town is Abergavenny, and the administrative centre is Usk.
Piercefield House is a largely ruined neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, by, or to the designs of, Sir John Soane. It is flanked by two pavilions, of slightly later date, by Joseph Bonomi the Elder. The house sits within Piercefield Park, a Grade I listed historic landscape, that was created in the 18th century as a notable Picturesque estate.
Monmouth School for Boys is a public school for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, the William Jones's Schools Foundation, by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the livery companies, and has close links to its sister school, Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. In 2018, the Haberdashers renamed their group of schools in the town, the Monmouth Schools, and made corresponding changes to the names of the boys' and girls' schools.
The Kymin, is a hill overlooking Monmouth, in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located approximately one mile east of Monmouth, on the eastern side of the River Wye and adjacent to the border with the Forest of Dean and England. The summit of the hill, about 800 feet above sea level, is known for its neo-classical monuments, the Roundhouse and the Naval Temple, built between 1794 and 1800. It is registered on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The site is within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is owned by the National Trust.
Monmouth Castle is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales.
Sophia Gardens is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket matches and county cricket matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. The gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Troy House is a Welsh historic house, on a "ducal" scale, north-east of Mitchel Troy, Monmouthshire. The original house belonged to Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy, of the Herbert family of Raglan Castle, who owned great estates in South Wales as Marquesses of Worcester and later Dukes of Beaufort. The present structure, overlooking the River Trothy was constructed from 1681 to 1684 as a wedding present for Charles Somerset by his father, Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort. Troy House is a Grade II* listed building and its gardens and park are listed, also at Grade II*, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The Nelson Garden, on 13 Chippenhamgate Street, at the rear of No.18 Monnow Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire is a 19th-century garden that was the scene of a tea party held to honour Lord Nelson in 1802. The garden is one of 24 sites on the Monmouth Heritage Trail. It is bounded on the south by the line of the medieval town wall through which it is entered via a short underground passageway. The garden has limited public access and is now managed by a trust. It is included on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The Mayor of Monmouth is an elected position given to a town councillor in Monmouth in Wales. The position dates back about 750 years.
Treowen is an early 17th-century house in Monmouthshire, Wales, regarded as "the most important gentry house in the county". It is located in open countryside within the parish of Wonastow, about ½ mile (1 km) north-east of the village of Dingestow, and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Monmouth. After being used as a farmhouse for three centuries, Treowen now operates as a conference and functions venue and holds the annual Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival. It is a Grade I listed building, and its gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Vauxhall Fields, also known as Vauxhall Meadows, are water meadows to the northwest of Monmouth town centre, Wales. The River Monnow borders the meadows on two sides. The meadows have generally remained free of development. The area has been prone to flooding on many occasions over the years.
Monmouth Cricket Club is based at Monmouth Sports Ground, Chippenham Fields, in Monmouth, Wales.
The Argoed, Penallt, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a Victorian country house dating from the 1860s, with earlier origins from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is a Grade II* listed building and the garden is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The English meaning of the Welsh word argoed is 'by a wood'.
Kingsley House and Hendre House are a pair of 19th-century, semi-detached houses on the North Parade section of Monk Street in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. The grade II listed houses were designed by noted Monmouth architect and builder George Vaughan Maddox, who also designed at least two of the twenty-four blue plaque buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail, including the Market Hall and the Monmouth Methodist Church. Hendre House should be distinguished from The Hendre, the estate of the Rolls family.
Glendower Street is a historic street in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It extends to the southeast from the intersection of Agincourt Street and St John's Street, within the medieval town walls. Glendower Street is lined with numerous listed buildings, including one of the 24 blue plaque buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail.
St John's is a grade II listed building in the town centre of Monmouth, Wales. It is located in Glendower Street within the medieval town walls. The house is most remarkable for the rear of the property which features a Coalbrookdale verandah and formal walled garden that have been separately grade II listed with the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The villa's garden is also registered with the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust.
Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".
Monmouthshire is a county of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with other large settlements being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996. It has an area of 850 km2 (330 sq mi), with a population of 93,200 as of 2021. Monmouthshire comprises some sixty per cent of the historic county, and was known as Gwent between 1974 and 1996.
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