The Powis Almshouses are a block of almshouses in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, at the junction of Church Street and Bridge Street (formerly St Anne's Street). The building dates from about 1721, and was constructed as a result of a bequest from Thomas Powis, a vintner who was probably born in the town. The almshouse is a Grade II* listed building.
Thomas Powis was probably born in Chepstow in or about 1675, the son of Grevill Powis who may have been attached to the garrison at Chepstow Castle. Nothing is known of Thomas Powis' later life other than that, in 1716, he was a vintner in Enfield, Middlesex, and in his will gave £1,800 to establish an almshouse in Chepstow for twelve poor men and women. He died in 1716, but because of legal ambiguities over the interpretation of the will it was not settled until 1718. The land for building the almshouses was acquired by its trustees in 1721 from the Duke of Montagu, and included the remains of a mediaeval hospital and cellar. The almshouses were built soon after then; although a plaque above the door gives a date of 1716, this refers to the date of the endowment rather than their completion. Initially they were known as the "New Almshouse", to distinguish the building from the "Old Almshouse" a few yards away on Church Street, now known as the Montague Almshouses. [1]
The number of inmates was set at twelve, originally with an equal number of men and women, although vacancies did not have to be filled until the number of inmates became less than eight. This provision was modified in 1923, to allow for married couples to be included as residents. Applicants for accommodation were required to have been resident in Chepstow for three years, to be of good character, and to be able to support themselves financially. Residents were expected to keep their rooms "clean and in neat order", and to behave responsibly. Several residents were removed from their rooms for misdemeanours including drunkenness, riotous and improper behaviour, and in one case in 1847 for "admitting an improper woman into his room." [1]
There were originally also twelve Trustees, reduced to eleven in 1878 with a stipulation that they should live within three miles of Chepstow. By 1923, considerable additional resources had been secured to run the Almshouse through the sale of farms that had been bought by the trustees from Thomas Lewis of St Pierre in 1727 as an investment. The properties were located in the parishes of Usk, Gwernesney and Llandenny. [1] [2]
Thomas Powis' bequest also provided for a sermon to be given each year on 10 November, in St Mary's Priory Church. In 1916 the vicar gave the sermon without having first received approval from the Trustees, who refused to pay him; the Trustees sought advice from the Charity Commission who insisted that the fee had to be paid. [1]
The building is described by architectural historian John Newman as "a delightfully artless and unspoilt ensemble... built of roughly squared local limestone." [3] It forms an L shape, with one arm of eight bays and the other of five bays. Three doorways give access to the accommodation. Information about the bequest is set out on a plaque positioned above the doorway in the shorter range, beneath a sundial. [3] The mediaeval cellar was incorporated into the building and continued to be used as a wine cellar by local vintners until, during the Second World War, it was converted into an air raid shelter. The building has been renovated several times over the centuries, but with little change to its external appearance. [1] The railings that originally enclosed the raised courtyard in front of the building were replaced by a stone wall in 1830. [2]
The Almshouses were given Grade II* listed building status on 24 March 1975. [4]
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 (3.2 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.
Chepstow Castle at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Located above cliffs on the River Wye, construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norman Lord William FitzOsbern. Originally known as Striguil, it was the southernmost of a chain of castles built in the Welsh Marches, and with its attached lordship took the name of the adjoining market town in about the 14th century.
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.
Raglan (; is a village and community in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located some 9 miles south-west of Monmouth, midway between Monmouth and Abergavenny on the A40 road very near to the junction with the A449 road. The fame of the village derives from Raglan Castle, built for William ap Thomas and now maintained by Cadw. The community includes the villages of Llandenny and Pen-y-clawdd. Raglan itself has a population of 1,183.
Mathern is a historic community (parish) and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 motorway. The village is designated as a Conservation Area. It is now bisected by the motorway, which passes over the road through the village, with the original village located to the south and the more recent development, known as Newton Green, to the north.
Kilgwrrwg is a rural parish in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located 7 miles (11 km) north west of Chepstow and 7 miles (11 km) south east of Usk in a network of country lanes running through the rolling hills below the Trellech ridge.
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.
Valentine Morris was a British landowner and politician, responsible for developing the picturesque woodland walks at Piercefield in the Wye Valley, and the Governor of St. Vincent from 1772 to 1779.
The Parish and Priory Church of St. Mary is located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Parts of the building, including its ornate west doorway, date from the late 11th century and are contemporary with the nearby Norman castle. The church is a Grade I listed building.
St Pierre is a former parish and hamlet in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Chepstow and adjacent to the Severn Estuary. It is now the site of a large golf and country club, the Marriott St Pierre Hotel & Country Club, which was previously a large manor house and deer park belonging to the Lewis family.
Llanfihangel Tor-y-Mynydd is a small rural village in the community of Devauden, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located within the Vale of Usk, about 9 miles south west of Monmouth and 6 miles east of the town of Usk, between the villages of Devauden and Llansoy.
Caerleon Endowed School, dates from 1724. At that point, the house was a junior school that was funded by a bequest from Charles Williams. The school became part of the state education system in 1948 under the 1944 Education Act. The school was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1951.
The Monmouth Alms Houses of Monmouth, Wales are funded by the charity established by the haberdasher William Jones before his death in 1615. That charity also established schools in Monmouth and a lectureship in London. The Haberdashers' Company served as trustee of the charity from 1613 until 2011, when the trusteeship was transferred to Bristol Charities. A second charity established through a separate bequest by Jones enabled the building of the Newland Alms Houses in the Forest of Dean. The original Monmouth Alms Houses were constructed in 1614; they were rebuilt in 1842 and 1961. The fourth version of the Monmouth Alms Houses was completed in 2013 and is named 'Cwrt William Jones Almshouses' and is owned and managed by Bristol Charities under the name of 'William Jones Almshouse Charity'. The original alms houses were located on what is now known as Almshouse Street. The most recent houses are located off St James' Square.
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.
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 other large settlements being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, 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. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020.
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, 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".
Castle Terrace, originally known as Castle Parade, is an unbroken row of fourteen three-storied Georgian dwellings in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The backs of the houses face Chepstow Castle. The whole terrace, numbers 33A–47 Bridge Street, is a Grade II* listed building.
Moynes Court is a Grade II* listed building in the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Chepstow. An earlier building was rebuilt as a private residence by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Llandaff, in about 1609/10, and much of the building remains from that period. Its grounds contain earthworks thought to be the foundations of an earlier moated manor house. The gatehouse to the court has a separate Grade II* listing.
Wyelands, sometimes styled The Wyelands or Wyelands House, is a Grade II* listed building and estate located about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, United Kingdom and about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the edge of Chepstow. It is a neoclassical villa designed by Robert Lugar in the late Regency period, and was completed around 1830.
Raglan Lodge is a Grade II* listed building in Beaufort Square, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. Though the frontage dates from the early 19th century, parts of the building date from the medieval period and the ground floor vaulted hall was probably the town's 14th century moot hall. The building has been refurbished and is currently used as a backpackers' hostel.