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Monnow Bridge ( ), in
Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
, Wales, is the only remaining
fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...
river bridge in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
with its gate tower standing on the bridge. Such
bridge tower A bridge tower () was a type of fortified tower built on a bridge. They were typically built in the period up to early modern times as part of a city or town wall or castle. There is usually a tower at both ends of the bridge. During the 19t ...
s were common across Europe from
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
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 In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
and a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The bridge crosses the
River Monnow The River Monnow () marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of Monmouth. The ...
(''Afon Mynwy'') above its confluence with the
River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...
. Monmouth had been a significant border settlement since the
Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesa ...
, when it was the site of the fort of
Blestium Blestium (also Blestio in the Antonine Itinerary (Iter XIII)) 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 s ...
. The River Wye may have been bridged at this time but the Monnow, being easily fordable, appears not to have had a crossing until after the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. According to the local tradition, construction of Monnow Bridge began in 1272 to replace a 12th-century Norman timber bridge. Through the
medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...
, the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, and the Chartist uprising, the bridge played a significant, if ineffectual, role in defending Monmouth. It also served as a
gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...
, a
munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...
store, a lodge, an advertising hoarding, a focus for celebrations and, most significantly, as a
toll gate Toll Gate or Tollgate may refer to: * Toll gate, a barrier across a toll road or toll bridge that is lifted when the toll is paid Entertainment * Tollgate (Hale single), "Tollgate" (Hale single) * ''The Toll-Gate'', a 1954 novel by Georgette Heye ...
. Much of the medieval development of Monmouth was funded by the
taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
and tolls the borough was entitled to raise through
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
. The tolls were collected through control of the points of entry to the town, including the gatehouse on Monnow Bridge. Built predominantly of
Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...
, the bridge was the subject of significant reconstruction and rebuilding in the 18th and 19th centuries. In those centuries, it also became a popular subject for artists;
Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...
, Gastineau and Cotman produced sketches of the bridge and gate. In the 20th century, it suffered increasing damage as higher volumes of traffic and the use of ever-larger vehicles led to several serious accidents. In the 21st century, the construction of a new road crossing to the south enabled the
pedestrianisation Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...
of the bridge.


History


Earliest history

Monmouth was a significant settlement in Roman Britain, as the border fort of
Blestium Blestium (also Blestio in the Antonine Itinerary (Iter XIII)) 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 s ...
and as an important centre for ironworking. It is possible the Romans bridged the River Wye during their occupation, but the Monnow appears not to have had a crossing until after the Norman invasion. The Norman lord William FitzOsbern built a castle near the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the two rivers in around 1070. The following two centuries saw the establishment of the Benedictine Priory and the development of the town as a defensive location on the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
.


12th–14th centuries

The original bridge over the Monnow at Monmouth was constructed of wood in the mid-12th century. In 1988, work on
flood defences A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...
revealed remains of the wooden bridge directly under the existing one, and dendrochronological analysis indicated that its timber came from trees felled between 1123 and 1169. An early account in the ''
Flores Historiarum The ''Flores Historiarum'' (Flowers of History) is the name of two different (though related) Latin chronicles by medieval English historians that were created in the 13th century, associated originally with the Abbey of St Albans. Wendover's ...
'' by Roger of Wendover may indicate that the wooden bridge and the nearby Church of St Thomas the Martyr were damaged by fire in the
Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...
in 1233, fought between supporters of Henry III and the forces of Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. Both the site of the battle and the specific bridge involved are debated—the local historian
Keith Kissack Keith Edward Kissack MBE (18 November 1913 – 31 March 2010) was a British schoolteacher and historian. He is notable for his many publications on the history of Monmouth and Monmouthshire. Life Kissack was born in Clun, Shropshire, to Rev. B ...
argued that the battle was fought on Vauxhall Fields, below Monmouth Castle and some way from Monnow Bridge, while other modern historians continue to place the battle at Overmonnow. The stone bridge was completed in the late 13th century. It was traditionally thought to have been built in 1272, though this date has no supporting documentary evidence. The historian William Coxe incorrectly described the bridge as pre-dating the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
and recorded that "it commanded the passage of the Monnow and was a barrier against the Welsh". In 1804, the Monmouth antiquarian Charles Heath wrote that the bridge's "foundation is so ancient that neither history or tradition afford any light respecting the date of its erection". Heath drew directly from ''The Antiquities of England and Wales'', an earlier guide by
Francis Grose Francis Grose (before 11June 173112May 1791) was an England, English antiquary, drawing, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local ...
, published in 1773. The archaeologist Martin Cook notes the significance of the date 1270 as the start of a period that saw increased bridge-building, as a result of the rapid growth of international trade. The civil engineer Edwyn Jervoise suggested that the absence of an evidential record was due to the destruction of the archives of the
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
at
Raglan Castle Raglan Castle () is a Late Middle Ages, late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan, Monmouthshire, Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th cent ...
in the 17th century. This is unlikely, as the gatehouse did not come into the possession of the duke's family, the Somersets, until the 19th century. The
gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...
, called Monnow Gate, which gives Monnow Bridge its now unique appearance, was added at the end of the 13th or start of the 14th centuries, twenty-five to thirty years after the bridge itself was built. The siting of the gatehouse mid-channel is relatively unusual; the archaeologist David Harrison notes the more common arrangement was for the gate to be situated on the roadway at one end of the bridge. In 1297,
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
provided a
murage Muragh or murage was a medieval tax levied in Britain and Ireland for the construction or maintenance of town walls. The term derived from Old French, ultimately from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
grant in favour of Monmouth in response to a request from his nephew, Henry of Lancaster. A murage was a medieval tax, granted specifically to allow for the raising of funds to construct or repair town walls. The grant allowed the townspeople to build the town walls and gates, including the construction of the gatehouse. By 1315, work was incomplete or required repair, as the original authority was renewed on 1 June of that year. At that time, the bridge would have been much narrower than now, with all traffic passing beneath a single arch. The arch was protected by a
portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...
, whose associated grooves are still visible. The prominent arched
machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...
s, defensive apertures through which stones or other material could be dropped on attackers, were added at an unknown date in the medieval period, possibly in the late 14th century. The gate formed part of the town's defensive walls. The cartographer
John Speed John Speed (1551 or 1552 – 28 July 1629) was an English cartographer, chronologer and historian of Cheshire origins.; superseding . The son of a citizen and Merchant Taylor in London,"Life of John Speed", ''The Hibernian Magazine, Or, Compe ...
's map of 1610 shows walls only on the northern side of the town, which lies unprotected by either the Monnow or the Wye, but the archaeologist Ian Soulsby suggests it is "inconceivable" that Monnow Gate, and another gate shown by Speed leading out onto Chippenham Mead, stood alone. As well as its defensive role, the gatehouse served as a barrier to allow for the collection of tolls from those attending markets. Tolls were authorised in the
Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a regis ...
of 1297 and 1315 and in subsequent town charters. Kissack gives details of the wide variety of items on which
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s were levied in his reproduction of the charter of 1297. These included "five fat hogs, (a) horse-load of honey and a thousand (roofing) nails". In 1447 Henry VI granted the town a Charter of Incorporation which enabled further development. Historians have debated whether defence or revenue collection was the gatehouse's primary purpose. The Victorian antiquarian Mary Ellen Bagnall-Oakeley, who wrote the first history of the bridge and gate in 1902, described the gatehouse as "a little fortress complete in itself, though of course, useless in time of war". Her account contended that the "tower was not in any way connected with the fortification walls of the town" and that the gatehouse was erected solely "for the purpose of taking tolls". The Monmouthshire antiquarian Joseph Bradney, in the first volume of his '' A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time'', concurred; "the bridge is a curious structure which appears to have been more for the purpose of collecting tolls than anything else, though as a defence to the town outside the walls it might be of some help". Kissack follows their arguments, noting that the gatehouse was ineffective in defensive terms, as the Monnow could easily be crossed on foot upstream. More recent commentators disagree; Soulsby considered the bridge to have a clear defensive purpose, and Michael Rowlands, author of the most recent history of the bridge and gatehouse, argued that the bridge and gatehouse met the dual aims of defensive protection and the collection of tolls.


15th–19th centuries

Neither Monmouth nor its castle were attacked in the
rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
of
Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...
between 1400 and 1415, although nearby
Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...
and Grosmont were burned down in the uprising. The unrest of the period had a negative impact on the development of the town. But the bridge continued its important function as a toll-gate. Philip Jones, Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs in 1589, bequeathed an annual sum of about £120, the rent from his lands and houses at 'Bayliepitte', to the mayor and bailiffs of Monmouth on condition that the borough exempt those people passing through the gate or coming into Monmouth with cattle from paying tolls on fair days. In the 16th century, the antiquarian John Leland described the bridge in one of his Itineraries: "From Monk's Gate the wall extends Westwards to the river Monnow. In the wall are four gates: Monk's Gate, East Gate and Wye Gate ... and Monnow Gate which is above the bridge crossing the river Monnow." A visual depiction of the bridge and gate is included in John Speed's work ''The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain'', published in 1611. His map of Monmouthshire includes an inset map of the town that shows the Monnow Bridge and Gate as well as a similar gatehouse on the Wye Bridge. In the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, the town changed hands several times, and in 1645 the bridge was seized by
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
soldiers from Raglan in a failed attempt to retake the town from the Parliamentarian forces under Colonel Kyrle. Kissack describes the engagement as "the most resolute Royalist attack made (on) Monmouth", which saw eight of Kyrle's opponents killed and five captured. By 1705, the bridge and gatehouse required maintenance: the original
battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
s were replaced with solid walls, and the building was refitted to form a two-storey dwelling house with timber and
lath A lath or slat is a thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood used under roof shingles or tiles, on lath and plaster walls and ceilings to hold plaster, and in lattice and trellis work. ''Lath'' has expanded to mean any type of backing m ...
extensions projecting over the river. The house was then leased to a resident gatekeeper, responsible for repairing and maintaining the building. Part of the gatehouse remained in use as a lock-up. Such multiple uses were not uncommon; the archaeologist C. J. Bond recorded that "gates often included chambers which could be used for lock-ups, chapels or meeting rooms". Both the bridge and the gatehouse were again repaired between 1771 and 1775. The bill for repairs included the cost of 100 gallons of ale for the workmen employed. Trade continued to be central to the importance of the bridge. The Monmouthshire writer and artist Fred Hando records that, on a single Saturday in the early 18th century, "500 horses each carrying five bushels of corn entered by way of the Monnow gate". In 1804, Charles Heath recorded, "The interior has nothing worthy of attention and the only purpose to which it is employed is an occasional guardhouse, or powder room, for the military, when stationed at Monmouth." The gatehouse had by this point been abandoned as a dwelling. The lean-to extensions, including the guardhouse, were demolished around 1815. In 1819, a pedestrian passageway was driven through the building on the upstream side to help relieve the flow of traffic across the bridge. Before 1830, the gatehouse was owned by Monmouth Corporation, and subsequently the County Council, as inheritors of the medieval burgesses. In a lengthy transaction, begun that year but not concluded until 1835, ownership was formally transferred to the
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
as part of a property exchange. The gatehouse roof was reconstructed in 1832, with deeper
eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...
and four decorative
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s on each side. A second passageway was added on the downstream side of the arch in 1845. Since then, the structure has remained essentially unchanged, save for periodic maintenance and repair. In 1839, at the time of the
Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartism, Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under ...
, the gatehouse was
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
ed as the authorities feared a Chartist attack on Monmouth. Later guidebooks suggest that the three loopholes visible on the tower were opened up at this time "for
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
ry in anticipation of the advance of the Chartists", but Rowlands shows that the apertures are visible in illustrations of the gatehouse long before 1839. The gatehouse was the scene of annual battles, or "muntlings", between rival gangs from "Up-Town" – the main town of Monmouth – and Overmonnow or "Cappers' Town", so called because it was the traditional home of those who made Monmouth caps. Until the confrontations were banned in 1858, youths from both sides of the bridge would gather for these occasions on 1 and 29 May, armed with
besom A besom () is a broom, a household implement used for sweeping. The term is mostly reserved for a traditional broom constructed from a bundle of twigs tied to a stout pole. The twigs used could be broom (i.e. '' Genista'', from which comes the ...
s or "muntles" reinforced with stones. The bridge was also used as an unofficial advertising hoarding and as a focus for significant local and national celebrations. In 1891, it was decorated with flags and lights to commemorate the coming of age of John Maclean Rolls, eldest son of Monmouthshire grandee Lord Llangattock.


20th–21st centuries

From 1889 to 1902, an extensive programme of conservation was carried out on the bridge and gate, directed by
Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) () is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern ...
, which retained responsibility for maintenance. This began with the prevention of the potential collapse of the gatehouse by the insertion of metal
tie rod A tie rod or tie bar (also known as a hanger rod if vertical) is a slender structural unit used as a tie and (in most applications) capable of carrying tensile loads only. It is any rod or bar-shaped structural member designed to prevent the separ ...
s to hold the two faces of the tower together; the four round plates at the ends of these two rods can still be seen. In 1892, conservation work began on the
arches An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...
and piers of the bridge following the discovery that riverbed erosion had seriously undermined the piers. Maintenance was carried out on the gatehouse exterior from the mid-1890s to 1897. Roof guttering and
downpipe A downspout, waterspout, downpipe, drain spout, drainpipe, roof drain pipe, rone or leader is a pipe for carrying rainwater from a rain gutter. The purpose of a downspout is to allow water from a gutter to reach the ground without dripping o ...
s were added, badly eroded stone was replaced with squared blocks of
Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...
, and the
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
arrowslit on the left-hand side of the west elevation of the gatehouse was restored to make it symmetrical. Concluding the 1889–1902 renovations, improvements were made to the interior of the gatehouse, and it was opened to the public in 1902. In 1900, ownership of the gatehouse was transferred from Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort to Monmouthshire County Council as part of the disposal of the entirety of the Somersets' land holdings in Monmouthshire. The gift is recorded on a brass plaque attached to the gatehouse. The local antiquarian Mary Ellen Bagnall-Oakeley wrote the first history of the bridge and gatehouse, ''Monnow Bridge Tower'', which appeared in 1903. In April 1893, the first
street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...
was erected on the bridge by the town council. In the late 1920s, the top portion of this light was replaced by twin electric lamps. In the 1960s, the lamps were removed completely, and since 1991 the bridge has been floodlit. In 1963, Fred Hando, who recorded points of interest and history around Monmouthshire in a series of articles for the '' South Wales Argus'' between the 1920s and the 1960s, wrote a description of the gatehouse, referencing the small museum then located in the upstairs room. Hando mentions the "beautifully executed" copies of the
patent roll The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a registe ...
s issued by
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
in 1296-7 and by
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...
in 1315 which recorded the items on which tolls could be levied to fund the fortifications for Monmouth. In the 20th century, the greater volume of traffic using the humpbacked bridge, which had poor visibility and narrow approach roads, led to a rise in accidents and an increase in bypass proposals. The desire of local authorities to clear carriageways of obstructions to traffic led to the demolition of many similar bridge towers from as early as the 18th century. The bridge and gate were formally protected as an
Ancient Monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...
in 1923, and proposals for a new road bridge began to be made about the same time. The new A40, built during 1965–1966, relieved the town of much through traffic, and a town centre plan, prepared by the District Council in 1981, again proposed a new bridge. Repairs had to be undertaken in 1982 following a collision on 18 May in which a double-decker bus struck the bridge, resulting in its closure for a month. Damage to the bridge and gate through accidents continued, and in the early 1990s, two drivers were prosecuted after crossing the bridge with vehicles significantly exceeding the weight and height limits. In 1999, the engineers Ove Arup and Partners undertook a feasibility study for a bridge downstream from the Monnow Bridge, but the scheme was not progressed at that time. Both the County and Town Councils remained committed to the construction of a new crossing to support the economic development of the town, and in 2003 local authority funding of £1.3 million was secured and construction commenced. The new bridge opened on 15 March 2004 for local traffic, allowing the old bridge to become pedestrianised. The closure to traffic also enabled a significant repair programme to be undertaken, in part funded by the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. After further conservation and repair, the gatehouse was formally re-opened in 2014, allowing public access on one day per week.


Depictions in art

William Gilpin, in his ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770'', published in 1782, generated considerable interest in the natural and man-made attractions of South Wales and heralded the development of the Wye Tour as an alternative to the Grand Tour. As a consequence, Monnow Bridge and gatehouse became a popular subject for artists. A late 18th-century watercolour by Michael Angelo Rooker is now in the Monmouth Museum. The noted architectural watercolourist Samuel Prout painted the bridge in a study dated "before 1814", now held at the
Yale Center for British Art The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare ...
in Connecticut. In 1795,
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
sketched the bridge and gatehouse during one of his annual summer sketching tours. The watercolourist and etcher
John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English Marine art, marine and Landscape painting, landscape painter, Etching, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a si ...
sketched the bridge in the early 19th century, his drawing showing the overhanging accommodation and guardhouse that were later removed. Joshua Cristall produced a similar pencil sketch in 1803. Henry Gastineau drew the bridge in about 1819. Due to a printing error that confused his drawing of the bridge with one of the tower at Raglan Castle on the opposite page of the printed collection, Gastineau's image often appears with the title ''Gate and Bridge, Ragland''. The artist of the American West Thomas Moran produced an undated pencil drawing of the bridge which is printed in his ''Field Sketches''. A depiction of the bridge in
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
by
Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...
can be seen in the ''Memorial of the Boer War'' window in St Mary's Priory Church in Monmouth.


Architecture and appreciation

The bridge is in length and wide. It has three arches standing on piers. The two piers that stand on the bed of the Monnow form cutwaters. The undersides of the arches are ribbed for reinforcement. The bridge is constructed of seven types of stone, predominantly
Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...
, all quarried within of Monmouth. The gatehouse stands high above the bridge deck. The two passageways through the gate are 19th-century insertions. Prior to their construction, the main gateway was the sole means of entry and egress. This opening was defended by a
portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...
. The gatehouse is elliptical, and its western and eastern elevations show considerable differences. The western front has three
machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...
s over the gate with
murder holes A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, ...
inset. The historians Oliver Creighton and Richard Higham note their "fine architectural detailing". The dating of the machicolations is uncertain, but comparison with similar, dated, examples, such as those at
Cooling Castle Cooling Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle in the village of Cooling, Kent on the Hoo Peninsula about north of Rochester. It was built in the 1380s by the Cobham family, the local lords of the manor, to guard the area against Fr ...
in Kent, suggests a construction period in the 14th century. They cannot be original to the gate, as their positioning would have obstructed the portcullis. The eastern front is less decorated and displays evidence of more substantial reconstruction. It has a centrally placed round-headed window. The pedestrian arches through the bridge also differ in design, the northern being pointed and the southern having a flat " Caernarvon" head. Internally, the gate has a single room and a
garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...
. The original internal access was by way of a stone spiral staircase, but this was subsequently destroyed and a wooden replacement was inserted. The room in the tower measures long and wide and has an attic and an 18th-century roof. The roof was reconstructed in 1832. From the upper room, the machine-cut rafters are visible. Drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries show a chimney in the roof, but the presence of a fireplace in the tower room is not mentioned in the available sources. The medieval roof was flat, with a castellated parapet and a wall-walk. In 1996, the bridge was included on a list of potential World Heritage Bridges by the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
advisory body, the
International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; ) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was fou ...
. The criteria for World Heritage status required that the bridge be of "outstanding universal value" and illustrate "a significant stage in bridge engineering or technological developments". The bridge is one of only two surviving fortified bridges in the United Kingdom, the other being in
Warkworth, Northumberland Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved Warkworth Castle, medieval castle, Church of St Lawrence, Warkworth, church and Warkworth Hermitage, hermitage. The population of Warkworth was ...
. There, the gatehouse stands on land at one end of the bridge, rather than on the bridge itself, and is described by the archaeologist John Steane as "less impressive" than the "superb" Monnow Gate. A recent (2016) appreciation by the historian Richard Hayman describes the Monnow Bridge as "arguably the finest surviving medieval bridge in Britain". Such
bridge tower A bridge tower () was a type of fortified tower built on a bridge. They were typically built in the period up to early modern times as part of a city or town wall or castle. There is usually a tower at both ends of the bridge. During the 19t ...
s were common across mainland Europe and, to a lesser extent, in Great Britain from medieval times. British examples included the Mardol Gate in
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
and Froome Bridge in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. Continental examples include the Frias Bridge, near
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
in Spain, and the
Pont Valentré The Pont Valentré () (; ) is a 14th-century six-span fortified Rock (geology), stone arch bridge crossing the river Lot (river), Lot to the west of Cahors, in France. It has become a symbol of the city. After the decision was made to build it on ...
, in
Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...
, France. But urban expansion, the lessening of defensive requirements, and the substantial increases in traffic and trade from the 18th century onward led to the destruction of many of what was once a common bridge type. The rarity of Monnow Bridge and Gate is reflected in its status as a potential
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
, and a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
; its listing describing it as "an outstanding medieval fortified bridge, now unique in Britain".


See also

*
Bridge castle Bridge Castle is an L-plan castle, dating from the 16th century, standing on a rocky site north west of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland,Maurice Lindsay (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p97 on the west of the Barbauchlaw Burn ...


Explanatory notes


References


Sources

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External links


Geograph photos of Monnow Bridge
* {{Authority control Bridges in Monmouthshire Stone bridges in the United Kingdom Deck arch bridges Bridges completed in the 13th century Grade I listed bridges in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire Buildings and structures in Monmouth, Wales Pedestrian bridges in Wales Former toll bridges in Wales