St James Street, Monmouth

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St James Street
St James' Street, Monmouth - geograph.org.uk - 1556822.jpg
St James Street with Queens Head to the right
Location Monmouth, Wales
Coordinates 51°48′45″N2°42′41″W / 51.8124°N 2.7115°W / 51.8124; -2.7115 Coordinates: 51°48′45″N2°42′41″W / 51.8124°N 2.7115°W / 51.8124; -2.7115
North St James Square
South Almshouse Street

St James Street is a historic street in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It appears as a segment of Whitecross Street on the 1610 map of the town by cartographer John Speed and is within the medieval town walls. On more recent maps, it extends from St James Square southwest to Almshouse Street. In 2010, the street was the site of discovery of Mesolithic era artefacts. St James Street is lined with numerous listed buildings.

Contents

History and location

By the 14th century, a portion of the street plan of Monmouth had been determined. [1] St James Street is located within the medieval walls of the town, built around 1300. [2] It is depicted on the map of Monmouth (pictured below) created by John Speed in 1610. However, it is not referred to as St James Street on the map. Rather, as discussed by author William Meyler Warlow in 1899, Whitecross Street extended from Church Street all the way to Weirhead Street. [3] Not only was St James Street part of Whitecross Street, so was Almshouse Street. St James Street is a more recent title. [3] Further, the author relates that Whitecross Street derived its name from a white cross which was positioned in the future St James Square near the Dispensary. Inspection of Speed's map reveals the symbol of a cross near East Gate (Dixton Gate), at the expected level of St James Square. [3]

St James Street intersects with the eastern end of St James Square, extending southwest to continue as Almshouse Street. [4] The southern portion intersects with Wyebridge Street from the east. [5] Beyond that, the southern tip of the street also intersects with St Mary's Street from the west. [4] The buildings along the northwest side of St James Street are somewhat more ornate than those on the opposite side. [4] On 8 November 2010, the BBC News reported that during the course of gas main replacement work at nearby St James Square and Wyebridge Street, Mesolithic era artefacts, including flints, were excavated (link to photograph of flints below). This represented the first discovery of Mesolithic human settlement in Monmouth. [6] An article by Sion Morgan of the Western Mail which also ran on 8 Nov 2010 in Wales Online suggested that similar artefacts were found in St James Street as well. [7]

The buildings

1610 Map of Monmouth by John Speed with symbol of cross near Dixton Gate (labeled M) Old map of Monmouth, Wales.jpg
1610 Map of Monmouth by John Speed with symbol of cross near Dixton Gate (labeled M)

The Queens Head at 1 St James Street is a 16th or 17th-century, grade II listed building. [8] While the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and author John Newman indicate that it was constructed in 1630, other sources suggest that it was built in the 16th century. [4] [9] Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) is reputed to have frequented the accommodations at the Queens Head, and to have been the object of an assassination attempt at the inn. [10] [11] The building, which is on the southeast side of the street, was renovated in 1922. At that time, it received a timbered facade from Harry A. Dancey of Gloucester. The oriel window was present before the 1922 updating. The interior has an early 17th-century plaster ceiling. [4] The building was listed on 27 June 1952, in part for the nature of its east gable end. [8] [9] In 2005, a group of Monmouth business people entered into a joint venture and assumed the tenancy of the building to form a community pub. The Queens Head currently serves as a public house, live music venue, restaurant, and bed and breakfast, and is run by only one member of the original, 2005 group. [11]

Clent House at 5 St James Street is a late 18th-century, grade II listed building. The three-storey, brick house is remarkable for a pedimented, Doric entrance with a fanlight. The slate roof has a single dormer. The building was grade II listed on 27 June 1952. [12] [13]

The Grange at 12-16 St James Street consists of three connected buildings, all grade II listed, on the northwest side of the street. [4] [14] [15] The three-storey, five-bay, main building features a pedimented, Doric entrance with a transom and a firemark. The 18th-century, listed building has a slate roof. [1] [4] [16] The Grange, until recently one of the schools of the Haberdashers' Company, has served as a preparatory school for boys ages seven to eleven. [17] In August 2010, the Monmouthshire County Council released details of an application to convert the prep school to a boarding house. [14] In December 2010, it was announced that permission for the redevelopment of the school as a boarding house had been granted. [14] [15] The conversion of The Grange is a component of the first phase of The Heart Project, a substantial renovation of Monmouth School which has recently been undertaken. The new boarding house opened in September 2011. [18]

18 St James Street, on the northwest side of the street, is described by author Newman as "something out of the ordinary." The 19th-century, three-storey building features a pedimented entrance with a radiating bar fanlight. The Ionic columns have angled volutes and the door is asymmetrically positioned. [4]

The Hame on St James Street is also referred to as Kingdom Hall in one record. The early 19th-century, two-storey, listed building has a stucco exterior and a slate roof. It was grade II listed on 27 June 1952. [19] [20]

Kingdom Hall, a listed building on St James Street, is home to the Jehovah's Witnesses. [21]

The Monmouth Methodist Church , also referred to as the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, wasn't built until 1837, although the congregation had purchased a parcel of land at St James Street for £500 at the turn of the 19th century. At that time, various Monmouth congregations were outgrowing their chapels. [22] [23] The building was designed by architect George Vaughan Maddox, who utilized a similar design for the Masonic Hall on Monk Street in 1846. [23] [24] By law, denominations that were considered to be Nonconformist were required to site their buildings in an inconspicuous area behind buildings along the street. The Methodist chapel was considered Nonconformist and, therefore, was set back from the street. (The regulation may have initially been enacted to target Catholics.) [23] The building underwent renovation of its interior in 1885, including raising of the floor, to reduce the dominance of the pulpit. [23] [25] The Methodist chapel has a classical design with a gable entrance. [25] The exterior is stucco, and there is a pedimented facade with a three-bay elevation, and Ionic columns at the ground and upper levels. The ground level windows are rectangular and pedimented, while the upper level windows are round-headed. [26] [27] The interior features Ionic columns, a prominent pulpit, coved ceilings, and high windows. [1] [27] The building was grade II* listed on 27 June 1952. [22] Listing information indicates that it has "exceptional architectural interest as an important historic building with a well preserved interior." [25] In September 2011, the Monmouth Methodist Church was one of the participants in "Open Doors 2011, European Heritage Days in Wales," welcoming members of the community into their facilities. [26]

21 St James Street is a 19th-century, listed building. The three-storey, one bay elevation features an exterior which is stucco on the ground floor and roughcast on the upper levels. The entrance is to the right, with a canted bay to the left. [28]

23 and 25 St James Street were grade II listed on 15 August 1974. [29]

Related Research Articles

Dixton Human settlement in Wales

Dixton is a small village located 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of Monmouth, on the banks of the River Wye, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. The parish originally comprised the two manors of Dixton Newton and Dixton Hadnock, on either side of the river.

Pen-y-clawdd Human settlement in Wales

Pen-y-clawdd is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, situated between Raglan and Monmouth. The village is the site of a medieval fortification and there is a historic church with an ancient cross in the churchyard which is a scheduled monument.

Monmouth War Memorial

The Monmouth War Memorial commemorates the Monmouth fallen of the First and Second World Wars.

War Memorial of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers

The War Memorial of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers commemorates the soldiers who died in World War I and World War II.

Monmouth town walls and defences

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.

Whitecross Street, Monmouth

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.

33 Whitecross Street, Monmouth

33 Whitecross Street is a grade II listed building in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is in the historic St James Square neighbourhood. The property was the site of archaeological excavation in 2009, which demonstrated evidence of Neolithic (prehistoric), Roman, and Medieval activity. The following year, archaeological excavation in the square discovered the first evidence of Mesolithic human settlement in Monmouth.

Monk Street, Monmouth

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.

Masonic Hall, Monmouth

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.

Kingsley House and Hendre House, Monmouth

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.

St James Square, Monmouth

St James Square is a historic square in the town centre of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located at the eastern end of Whitecross Street, within the medieval town walls. The area features the Monmouth War Memorial and the controversial, historic Indian Bean Tree. In addition, in 2010, the square was the site of discovery of the first Mesolithic artefacts in Monmouth. St James Square is lined with numerous listed buildings. It is also home to the Monmouth Catalpa Tree.

The Grange, Monmouth

The Grange consists of three attached, grade II listed buildings in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is in the historic St James Street neighbourhood, within the medieval town walls. The Grange was originally built by Captain Charles Philipps at the site of a former farm house. It was the residence of the Kane family and, later, the Windsor family. The buildings also served as a preparatory school, one of the schools of the Haberdashers' Company, until 2009. In 2011, the buildings were converted into a boarding house for students of Monmouth School, another Haberdashers' Company school.

St James House, Monmouth

St James House is a grade II listed building in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is in the historic St James Square neighbourhood, within the Medieval town walls. While the house currently has an attractive, 18th-century facade, it originated as a burgage tenement. In addition, behind the house, evidence of a kiln has been unearthed, with both Medieval and Post-medieval pottery. In 2010, archaeological excavation in the square revealed the first evidence of Mesolithic human settlement in Monmouth. Recent residents of St James House have included boarding students from Monmouth School.

Glendower Street, Monmouth

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 Nelson Rooms, Monmouth

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.

Monmouth Police Station

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.

Druids Head Inn

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.

St Johns, Monmouth

St John's 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. The eight bedroom home 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.

Wye Bridge Ward, Monmouth

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.

Great Manson Farm, Monmouth

Great Manson Farm is a property on the northern outskirts of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, in the Buckholt area. It is in the Manson Lane neighbourhood, within the electoral division of Dixton with Osbaston. During the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, members of the Clarke, Goode, Clark, Dampier, and Morgan families resided at Great Manson Farm, at which time the reported size of the farm varied from 170 to 200 acres. The property is remarkable for the presence of three grade II listed buildings, including a barn with medieval origins.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Walking in Monmouth, Monmouthshire and The Wye Valley". monmouth.org.uk. The Monmouth Website. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "Monnow Bridge". cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk. The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Historic Environment Record. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 William Meyler Warlow (1899). A history of the charities of William Jones (founder of the "Golden lectureship" in London), at Monmouth & Newland. W. Bennett. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 John Newman (11 March 2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 408–409. ISBN   9780300096309 . Retrieved 24 May 2012.Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  5. ↑ "Virtual Map of Monmouth". monmouth.org.uk. The Monmouth Website. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Items found in Monmouth shed light on Mesolithic man". BBC News. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Sion Morgan (8 November 2010). "Monmouth's meeting the ancestors from more than 10,000 years ago". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  8. 1 2 "The Queen's Head PH, Monmouth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Queen's Head; James Street, 1, Monmouth". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "The Oliver Cromwell Website". olivercromwell.org. Cromwell Association and Cromwell Museum Huntingdon. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Queen's Head Monmouth". queensheadmonmouth.co.uk. Queen's Head Monmouth. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Clent House, St James Street; St James Street No 5". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Clent House, Monmouth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 "The Grange, Monmouth School". monmouthshire.gov.uk. Monmouthshire County Council. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  15. 1 2 "The Grange, St James Street, Monmouth". geograph.org.uk. Geograph. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Grange The, St James Street". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  17. ↑ "The Grange - Overview". thegrangemonmouth.org. The Grange - A School of the Haberdashers’ Company. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "The Heart Project". monmouthschool.org. Monmouth School - A School of the Haberdashers’ Company. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  19. ↑ "Hame The, St James's Street; Kingdom". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  20. ↑ "The Hame, Monmouth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  21. ↑ "Kingdom Hall (Jehova's Witnesses), St James' Street, Monmouth1". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Monmouth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Nonconformity in Monmouth" (PDF). capeli.org.uk. The Chapels Heritage Society. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  24. ↑ "Monmouth Town". monmouth.gov.uk. Monmouth Town Council. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  25. 1 2 3 "St James Street Methodist Church (Wesleyan), Monmouth". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  26. 1 2 "Monmouthshire". civictrustwales.org. Open Doors 2011 - European Heritage Days in Wales. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  27. 1 2 John Newman (11 March 2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. p. 399. ISBN   9780300096309 . Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  28. ↑ "St James Street, 21". coflein.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  29. ↑ "Nos.23 & 25, Monmouth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
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