History
A mineral water works, for the manufacture of soda water, lemonade and ginger beer, was established in Glendower Street in 1866 by Thomas E. Hyam, a leading figure in nineteenth century Monmouth. He was a corn and timber merchant, saw mill owner, and shop owner, who became Monmouth's mayor in 1875/6 and was also a Justice of the Peace. To quote Keith Kissack, [2] "No committee or association was considered complete unless it included his name". Residences in Monmouth associated with the Hyam family were Cornwall House in Monnow Street and Parade House on North Parade. In 1870, the Duke of Beaufort commended his mineral waters, writing:
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may be classified as "still" or "sparkling" (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
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.
The Mayor of Monmouth is an elected position given to a town councillor in Monmouth in Wales. The position dates back about 750 years.
"For upwards of six months I have used no Seltzer water but Mr Hyam's of Monmouth… I have found it most excellent. I have never been so well supplied." [3]
In 1895 Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire for 1901 describes John B Hyam's business as "mineral & aerated water manufacturer & ale & porter merchant." [4] About this time proprietary medicines became popular and were advertised in the Monmouthshire Beacon , amongst which was 'Hyam's Anti-Influenza Tonic Water'.
Kelly's Directory was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities. In effect, it was a Victorian version of today's Yellow Pages. Many reference libraries still keep their copies of these directories, which are now an important source for historical research.
Monmouthshire, also known as the County of Monmouth, is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county. It corresponds approximately to the present principal areas of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport and Torfaen, and those parts of Caerphilly and Cardiff east of the Rhymney River.
The Monmouthshire Beacon is a weekly tabloid newspaper covering the areas of Monmouthshire, south Herefordshire and western Gloucestershire. It has been in continuous publication since 1837. Since 1980 the newspaper has been part of the Tindle Newspaper Group of local newspapers owned by Farnham Castle Newspapers and chaired by Sir Ray Tindle.
Hyam owned a saw mill and timber yard at Wyesham, and owned boats known as trows for hauling his timber and carrying goods on the River Wye. He also had a retail shop at 33, Monnow Street, designed by Lawrence of Newport and built by Lewis of Monmouth in 1866. The new building of freestone with Aberdeen granite pillars was widely praised at the time. The spandrels were elaborately carved and it was one of the first shops in Monmouth to introduce curved plate glass windows. The premises are, in 2012, occupied by a kitchenware and gifts retailer.
In 1911 the business was taken over by Charles Ballinger, and traded as Ballinger's Mineral Water Works until the 1960s. Ballinger was also the landlord of the Griffin Hotel in Whitecross Street. He traded as a Mineral Water Manufacturer and bottler of Bass and Worthington's Ales, Guinness Stout and Wheatley's Hop Bitters. [5] This continued until the 1960s when the firm closed down. The premises were then occupied by Ebley Ltd., a tyre company, who subsequently relocated to the Mayhill Industrial Estate, and the buildings on Glendower Street were converted into apartments and named Hyam Court. [3]
The Griffin is a public house in Whitecross Street, Monmouth, Wales. The building dates from the 18th Century and it has been grade II listed since 2005. Its name and sign refer to the legendary creature, the griffin.
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.
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 Church of St Thomas the Martyr at Overmonnow, Monmouth, south east Wales, is located beside the medieval Monnow Bridge across the River Monnow. At least part of the building dates from around 1180, and it has a fine 12th-century Norman chancel arch, though the exterior was largely rebuilt in the early 19th century. It is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail and is a Grade II* listed building.
The Robin Hood Inn, Nos. 124 and 126, Monnow Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales is a public house of late medieval origins. It was Grade II* listed in 1952.
The Market Hall, Priory Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire 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*.
Agincourt House, No. 1 Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales is a notable early seventeenth century half-timbered building.
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 writes that his buildings "give(.) Monmouth 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 Maddox's "most important projects".
Cornwall House is a town house located at numbers 56 and 58, Monnow Street in Monmouth, Wales. It dates in part from the 17th century but was rebuilt in several stages later. The street facade and rear facade are very different, but both are reworkings of a much older building. It is a Grade II* listed building, and has been described in The Buildings of Wales as "the most imposing house in the street". Part has been the main office of the Monmouthshire Beacon newspaper since 1987.
Glendower House, Glendower Street, Monmouth, Wales, is a Victorian former Congregational chapel constructed in a Classical style. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales describes it as "a chapel of exceptional sophistication and elaboration of design and one of the earliest Italianate chapels in Wales". It is named after Prince Owain Glyndŵr.
Church Street is a pedestrianised street in the centre of Monmouth, Wales. It now 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.
Overmonnow is that part of the town of Monmouth, in Wales, which is located to the west of the River Monnow and the Monnow Bridge. It developed as a suburb of the town in the Middle Ages, when it was protected by a defensive ditch, the Clawdd-du or "Black Dyke", the remains of which are now protected as an ancient monument. In later centuries the area became known as "Little Monmouth" or "Cappers' Town". Development of the area has continued, particularly since the mid-twentieth century, and the area is now a ward of Monmouthshire County Council.
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.
Monnow Street is the main shopping street of Monmouth, south east Wales. It runs for about 500 yards in a south-westerly direction from Agincourt Square to the Monnow Bridge, which crosses the River Monnow.
The Nelson Rooms is a grade II listed building in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is in the historic Glendower Street and Agincourt Street neighbourhood, within the medieval town walls. The building initially served as a gymnasium and was a gift from Lady Llangattock to the town of Monmouth. In 1924, after the benefactor's death, it reopened as the Nelson Museum, and showcased the collection of memorabilia related to Admiral Horatio Nelson that had been amassed by the baroness. The Nelson Museum moved to new quarters at the Market Hall in 1969. The former gymnasium and museum is now an apartment building.
The Monmouth Police Station is a Grade II listed building in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located in the historic Glendower Street neighbourhood, within the medieval town walls. In March 2012, it was announced that the Monmouth Police Station was one of seventeen police stations in South East Wales that would no longer be open to the public.
The Druid's Head Inn is a grade II listed building in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located in the historic Glendower Street and Chippenhamgate Street neighbourhood, within the medieval town walls. The building served as a public house during most of its history, but for the last several decades has been the headquarters of the Monmouth Rugby Football Club.
