Front page of the earliest surviving copy of the Welsh newspaper The Monmouthshire Merlin; 23 May 1829
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 (1926-2022).[1]
The first issue was published on 14 October 1837, priced at 4½d (1.9p). It was printed by Thomas Farror at Castle Hill, Monmouth, and published by him at Agincourt Square. The first editor was Richard Ramsey Dinnis (assisted by the Rev. George Roberts[2]). This paper had to compete with the Monmouthshire Merlin which had started publication eight years earlier.[3] The Merlin had been started by Charles Hough in 1829, but it had bankrupted him by 1831 and it was his co-owner Reginald James Blewitt who eventually built the Merlin to have the largest newspaper circulation in Wales by 1854.[4] The Beacon's attacks on R.J.Blewiit were so strong that the Merthyr paper disagreed with the Beacon despite their shared politics. The Beacon was backed by the Ironmaster Sir Joseph Bailey Bt. and local conservatives. It was said that the Beacon's circulation was only just over 500 and was thought to run at a loss, with copies being given away.[2]
Cornwall House, where the editorial offices are located today
In 1840, the Beacon produced a 200-page special report on the trial of the Chartist leaders in the Shire Hall.[5] A similar issue was published by the Monmouthshire Merlin but they took different lines. The Merlin defended the Whig government whilst the Beacon blamed it for an uprising that had led to the ring-leaders being sentenced to death. Although the Beacon did not support the uprising and realised that those involved were obliged to "be dealt with as enemies and aliens".[6] In 1840 there was also a Monmouthshire Advertiser but this was absorbed into the Monmouthshire Beacon and Advertiser by 1850.[7] Around 1840, John Dix claimed to have been editor of this paper but supporting evidence is not available.[8]
The Beacon's printing works and offices moved to the new Market Hall in Priory Street in 1876.[9] In 1963, the newspaper's offices and print works were completely destroyed, together with much of the building itself, when a fire started in its paper store.[10] Its offices then moved to 50 Monnow Street, and in 1987 moved again to Cornwall House, where the new offices were opened during the newspaper's 150th anniversary year by Princess Margaret.[5]
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.
Monmouthshire is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with other towns and large villages being: Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth, Magor and Usk. It borders Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north.
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.
Blestium was a small fort and iron working centre in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, part of Roman Britain. It has been identified with the site of the later town of Monmouth in south east Wales, located adjoining the confluence of the River Monnow with the River Wye. A plaque on the local bank records its position.
The Register, originally the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, and later South Australian Register, was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and folded into The Advertiser almost a century later in February 1931.
The Tindle Group is a British multimedia company operating regional newspapers and radio stations across the British Isles.
The Monmouth Museum, alternatively known as The Nelson Museum and Local History Centre, is a museum in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It features a collection of artifacts associated with Admiral Horatio Nelson. The museum is located in the old Market Hall in the town centre.
The Cambrian News is a weekly newspaper distributed in Wales. It was founded in 1860 and is based in Cefn Llan Science Park, Aberystwyth. Cambrian News Ltd was bought by media entrepreneur Sir Ray Tindle in 1998.
The Shire Hall in Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Wales, is a prominent Grade I listed building in the town centre. It was built in 1724, and was formerly the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions for Monmouthshire. In 1839–40, the court was the location of the trial of the Chartist leader John Frost and others for high treason for their part in the Newport Rising. The building was also used as a market place. The Shire Hall is owned by Monmouthshire County Council and has audiovisual guides for visitors to Courtroom 1. It is currently used as a Tourist Information Centre and as the offices for Monmouth Town Council, and is open to the public in part.
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 County Gaol, situated in North Parade, Monmouth, Wales, was Monmouthshire's main prison when it was opened in 1790. It served as the county jail of Monmouthshire and criminals or those who fell foul of the authorities were hanged here until the 1850s and some 3,000 people viewed the last hanging. The jail covered an area of about an acre, with a chapel, infirmary, living quarters and a treadmill. It was closed in 1869. In 1884 most of the building was demolished, and today nothing remains but the gatehouse which is a Grade II listed building. Within the gatehouse, there exists "a representation in coloured glass of the complete original buildings". It is one of 24 buildings 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*.
Hyam's Mineral Water Works is a nineteenth century building at 23 Glendower Street, Monmouth, Wales. Formerly a mineral water works, it is currently used as residential apartments. The building holds one of the 24 blue plaques awarded by the Monmouth Civic Society to buildings of especial historical and social interest, and features 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".
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.
Overmonnow is a suburb of the town of Monmouth, in Wales, which is located to the west of the River Monnow and the Monnow Bridge. It developed 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".
Reginald James Blewitt (1799–1878) was a British MP. He built up the Monmouthshire Merlin newspaper and refurbished Llantarnam Abbey.
The Monmouth town walls and defences comprise the defensive system of town walls and gates built in Monmouth, Wales between 1297 and the early part of the following century. Wye Bridge Gate, East Gate, Monk's Gate, and Monnow Bridge Gate were access points to the town. West Gate, across Monnow Street, also provided access. Only the Monnow Bridge Gatehouse survives intact, albeit in a substantially modified version from the original.
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 Pontypool Free Press is an English language weekly regional newspaper that was originally published in Pontypool, as the Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills, in 1859 and is circulated in Pontypool and the surrounding area of Torfaen, in south-east Wales.
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