Grosmont ( cy, Y Grysmwnt or ''Rhosllwyn'') is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wit ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) 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, wit ...

, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 920. The wider community (parish) includes the villages of

Llangattock Lingoed Llangattock Lingoed ( cy, Llangatwg Lingoed) is a small rural village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located approximately five miles north of Abergavenny, between Abergavenny and Grosmont, a few miles south of the Wales-Engla ...

Llangua Llangua ( cy, Llangiwa) is a village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, United Kingdom. Saint Ciwa is said to have built a church there in the VIIth century. Location Llangua is located nine miles north-east of Abergavenny on the A465 road ...

and

Llanvetherine Llanvetherine ( cy, Llanwytherin) is a village in the community of Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located five miles north east of Abergavenny on the B4521 road to Ross-on-Wye. The name comes from the Welsh Saint Gwytherin. History an ...

History

There are circumstantial indications that Grosmont may have originated as an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

camp.

Grosmont Castle

Grosmont Castle Grosmont Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly comm ...

, along with the nearby White Castle and Skenfrith Castle, have given rise to the Three Castles Walk which links the castles and along with the Monnow Valley Walk brings visitors to the village. Grosmont is dominated by the nearby Graig Syfyrddin (or Edmunds Tump, possibly after Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster). The castle itself was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066. It was the birthplace of Henry, 1st Duke of Lancaster.

Formation of the borough

Grosmont was once an important

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

township. It was granted a borough charter, possibly in 1219, and by 1250 there may have been as many as 160 burgage plots. It retained its

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

status until 1857, at which time it still had a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and an official

ale Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to bala ...

taster. Grosmont Town Hall replaced a former timber structure and was built in 1832 by the then landowner the 6th Duke of Beaufort, whose descendant offered it to the Grosmont Parish Council in May 1902. The Church of St Nicholas probably has ancient origins but the tower and other parts were built by Prince Edmund (son of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...

and later Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster) for his mother

Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. A ...

(Queen Eleanor). The 14th century church is dedicated to

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Dem ...

and was restored by J. P. Seddon in 1869. It has an unusual eight-sided tower.

Battle of Grosmont

Grosmont is linked to the Welsh Prince

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

and during the Glyndwr rebellion it was the site of a battle in 1405. Glyndwr's ally and trusted Captain

Rhys Gethin Rhys Gethin (died in 1405) was a key figure in the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr. He was his standard bearer and a leading general. His name means "swarthy Rhys". Little is known of his life. He had a brother, Hywel Coetmor, who also played a sign ...

raised a force of maybe 8,000 men that marched on Grosmont burning the town to the ground. At this time Grosmont was a large and important settlement - only

and

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

were larger in the whole of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. Prince Henry, later to become King

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

, dispatched a force comprising men led by John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir William Newport and Sir John Greynder from

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

to intercept the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

force. They fell on them and defeated the Welsh, killing 800 to 1,000 men and capturing Owen ap Gruffydd ap Rhisiant, Glyndwr's Secretary and John Hanmer, Glyndwr's brother in law, who both survived the battle but were imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

Recent history

The Anglican "saint" Lydia Sellon was brought up at Port-y-seal in Grosmont in the 1820s before she went on to found and lead a religious order for women. In the summer of 2006 the pub and village were the location for the film '' The Baker'' released in 2007. The Angel

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

in Grosmont was owned and run by a group of villagers until December 2014 when it was taken over by private landlords, Anna and Trevor Woolnough.

Local government

The wider

of Grosmont includes the villages (and

Monmouthshire Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 a ...

wards) of

and

. Grosmont community elects a community council of nine members who meet at Grosmont Town Hall.Grosmont Community Council
Grosmont.org. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

Transport

Located near the currently closed

Pontrilas railway station Pontrilas railway station is a former station which served the Herefordshire villages of Pontrilas and Ewyas Harold, and was a little distance from Grosmont, in Monmouthshire, Wales. It was located on the Welsh Marches Line between Herefor ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...

, on the Welsh Marches Line between

and

References

External links

Grosmont village websitePhotos of Grosmont castle and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire