Former name(s) |
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Location | Monmouth, Wales |
Coordinates | 51°48′46″N2°42′53″W / 51.8127°N 2.7148°W Coordinates: 51°48′46″N2°42′53″W / 51.8127°N 2.7148°W |
East | Agincourt Square |
West | Monk Street |
Church Street is a pedestrianised street in the centre of Monmouth, Wales. It contains a variety of independent shops, restaurants, commercial art galleries, and the Savoy Theatre. Until the 1830s, when Priory Street was built to bypass it, it was the main thoroughfare into the centre of Monmouth from the north-east, linking the market and the parish church. It was at one time the centre of the town's butchery trade and was known as Butcher's Row.
According to local writer and antiquarian Charles Heath in 1804: [1]
Church Street was originally a mere thoroughfare, scarcely wide enough to admit a loaded waggon to pass through it. Every door had its pent-house, with a seat under it, which afforded the opportunity to inquisitive minds of watching their neighbour's business, instead of attending to their own. When Sir John Stepney, Baronet, was elected M.P. for the borough, it was altered and improved at his expense; in compliment to whom it was as frequently called Stepney Street as Church Lane; but when I came to Monmouth, considering the principal entrance from London into the town, as worthy of a more modern title, I printed it Church Street, which is the name it continues to be known by...... In Speed's map (printed in 1610), this street is called "Butcher's Row", probably from being occupied by men in that employ, or where the animals were slaughtered. On the site of the most respectable part of it was a dirty shore or kennel, and, on the bank above, posts and rails were placed, to secure the passengers from falling into it. Great additions to its appearance have been made within these few years, by almost every tradesman residing in it.
The word "penthouse" referred, at that time, to a structure with a sloping roof attached to the outside wall of a building; and "kennel" referred to a gutter at the edge of the street. Sir John Stepney was M.P. for Monmouth between 1767 and 1783. [2]
By the 1830s, Church Street had become increasingly congested and insalubrious, "narrow and dangerous". [3] According to local tradition, a local gingerbread maker, Mrs Syner, was closing the shutters of her shop one evening when the mail coach to Liverpool went through at a gallop. Her apron strings were caught in one of the horses' harnesses, and she was dragged along the ground for some distance. [4] Escaping serious injury, she grabbed the coachman's whip, knocked out some of his teeth with the handle, and marched back to her shop to begin organising a petition for a new road to be built to bypass Church Street. The Borough Council then organised a competition for the best scheme, with a prize of £10 for the winner. The prize was won by local architect George Vaughan Maddox, who proposed a new carriage road — now Priory Street — on a viaduct immediately above the bank of the River Monnow. Work began on the new road in 1834, and it was opened in 1837. [5] [6]
The buildings in the modern street date largely from the early nineteenth century, with continuous three-storeyed, stuccoed terraces on both sides. The frontage of 24 Church Street was designed by G. V. Maddox around 1840. 12-16 Church Street on the left, providing an entrance to White Swan Court, built at the same time as Priory Street, may also be by Maddox. [7]
The Savoy Theatre is a Grade II* listed building, which was refurbished in 1928 in traditional style, and is reputedly the oldest working theatre site in Wales. The building in which the theatre is housed was constructed on the foundations of the earlier Bell Inn, and was first granted an entertainment licence in 1832. It became Monmouth's first cinema, the "Living Picture Palace and Rinkeries", in 1910, before being rebuilt by the Albany Ward theatre group. [8] It closed as a cinema in the 1980s, later reopening as a bingo hall and again closing in 1983, before reopening for a time to show historic magic lantern slides. [9] It has operated continuously as a cinema since the 1990s and is now run by a charitable trust. [10]
Other premises in the street are now occupied by art galleries, gift shops, a bookshop, traditional greengrocers, butchers, chemist, clothes shops, coffee shops, and restaurants. [11]
Monmouth is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Cardiff, and 113 miles (182 km) west of London. It is within the Monmouthshire local authority, and the parliamentary constituency of Monmouth. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8,877 in 2001. Monmouth is the historic county town of Monmouthshire although Abergavenny is now the county town.
Monnow Bridge, in Monmouth, Wales, is the only remaining fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower standing on the bridge. Such bridge towers were common across Europe from medieval times, but many were destroyed due to urban expansion, diminishing defensive requirements and the increasing demands of traffic and trade. The historical and architectural importance of the bridge and its rarity are reflected in its status as a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. The bridge crosses the River Monnow 500 metres (1,600 ft) above its confluence with the River Wye.
The Savoy Theatre, Church Street, Monmouth is a theatre and cinema, reputedly the oldest working theatre site in Wales. It has a capacity for 360 people and is run by a charitable trust. One of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail, the theatre is a Grade II* listed building.
St Mary's Priory Church, in Whitecross Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, is an Anglican church founded as a Benedictine priory in 1075. The current church dates mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1952. It is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail.
Monmouth Priory, in Priory Street, Monmouth, Wales, is a building that incorporates the remains of the monastic buildings attached to St Mary's Priory Church. The priory was a Benedictine foundation of 1075, and parts of the mediaeval buildings remain. The buildings were substantially redeveloped in the nineteenth century for use as St Mary's National School, and now form a community centre. The complex is a Grade II* listed building as of 27 June 1952. It is one of 24 sites on the Monmouth Heritage Trail.
The Market Hall, in Priory Street, Monmouth, Wales, is an early Victorian building by the prolific Monmouth architect George Vaughan Maddox. It was constructed in the years 1837–39 as the centrepiece of a redevelopment of part of Monmouth town centre. After being severely damaged by fire in 1963, it was partly rebuilt and is now the home of Monmouth Museum. At the rear of the building are original slaughterhouses, called The Shambles, opening onto the River Monnow. The building is Grade II listed as at 27 June 1952, and it is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail. The Shambles slaughterhouses are separately listed as Grade II*.
The Beaufort Arms Hotel, Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, south-east Wales is a former coaching inn dating from the early eighteenth century, though the frontage may have been modified by the prolific early Victorian architect George Vaughan Maddox in the 1830s. A stone cornice on the central block still carries the inscription "The Beaufort Arms". It is a Grade II* listed building as of 27 June 1952. It is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail.
Agincourt House, No. 1 Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales is a notable early seventeenth century half-timbered building.
The Angel Hotel, Church Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, south-east Wales is a Grade II listed building. The building was in use as an inn in 1700 and closed in 1985, the longest period of continuous history of any public house in Monmouth. The building is of three storeys, with a roof of Welsh slate and a wooden Doric doorcase. During the late nineteenth century, the hotel was the headquarters of the Monmouth Branch of the Cyclists Touring Club. It is now a furniture shop, and one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail.
George Vaughan Maddox was a nineteenth-century British architect and builder, whose work was undertaken principally in the town of Monmouth, Wales, and in the wider county. Working mainly in a Neo-Classical style, his extensive output made a significant contribution to the Monmouth townscape. The architectural historian John Newman considers that Monmouth owes to Maddox "its particular architectural flavour. For two decades from the mid-1820s he put up a sequence of public buildings and private houses in the town, in a style deft, cultured, and only occasionally unresolved." The Market Hall and 1-6 Priory Street are considered his "most important projects".
Oak House is a Grade II Listed building on Monk Street Monmouth, Wales.
The Clawdd-du, also known in historical records as the Black Dyke, Black Ditch or Clawthy, is a mediaeval linear defensive earthwork or moat, constructed as protection for the faubourg of Overmonnow, on the opposite side of the River Monnow from the town and castle of Monmouth, Wales.
Agincourt Square is an open space in the centre of Monmouth, Wales, in front of the Shire Hall. The area has been used for public functions and markets over the centuries.
1 Monk Street, Monmouth was built as a Working Men's Free Institute. It is a Grade II Listed building in Monmouth, Wales and located next to Monmouth Baptist Church.
Whitecross Street is a historic street in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was in existence by the 15th century, and appears as Whit crose on the 1610 map of the town by cartographer John Speed. It runs in an east-west direction, between Church Street and St James Square. It has been suggested that the street takes its name from a plague cross. Whitecross Street is lined with numerous listed buildings.
Monk Street is an historic street in the town of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. A portion of it was in existence by the 14th century, and appears on the 1610 map of the town by cartographer John Speed. It runs in a north-south direction, extending northward from its intersection with Whitecross Street. The name of the street relates to the nearby Priory, as well as the gate which was originally on this road and provided part of the town's defences, Monk's Gate. Monk Street is lined with numerous listed buildings.
The Masonic Hall is a grade II listed building on Monk Street in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was designed by architect George Vaughan Maddox. The building is believed to mark the site of Monk's Gate, part of the original defences of the town of Monmouth. Before its 1846 conversion to the Masonic Hall, the building served as the Monk Street Theatre. After more than 150 years of housing the Loyal Monmouth Lodge No. 457, the Masonic Hall sustained fire and smoke damage from suspected arson. The Lodge of Freemasons housed in the building is the oldest surviving Masonic Lodge in Monmouthshire.
Wye Bridge Ward was one of four wards in the town of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. Streets in the ward included St Mary's Street, Almshouse Street, St James Street, St James Square, Whitecross Street and Monk Street. The ward existed as a division of the town by the early seventeenth century, and continued into the twentieth century.
1–6 Priory Street in Monmouth, Wales, is a row of six shop houses designed by the architect George Vaughan Maddox and constructed c. 1837. They form part of Maddox's redevelopment of the centre of Monmouth and stand opposite his Market Hall. The architectural historian John Newman has written that Maddox's work "gives Monmouth its particular architectural flavour," and considers Priory Street to be "his greatest work."
12–16 Church Street in Monmouth, Wales, is a row of three shop houses designed by the architect George Vaughan Maddox and constructed c. 1837. They form part of Maddox's redevelopment of the centre of Monmouth and stand on Church Street, to the rear of Maddox's Priory Street. The architectural historian John Newman has written that Maddox's work "gives Monmouth its particular architectural flavour" and Cadw describes the grouping of 12–16 Church Street as "the best preserved early 19th century shopfront in Monmouth."