page_title: Monnow Bridge
section_title: 15th–19th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Monnow Bridge / History / 15th–19th centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: Sketch of Monnow Bridge by J. M. W. Turner
context_page_description: 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 above its confluence with the River Wye.
  Monmouth had been a significant border settlement since the Roman occupation of Britain, when it was the site of the fort of Blestium. 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. According to the local tradition, construction of Monnow Bridge began in 1272 to replace a 12th-century Norman timber bridge. Through the medieval era, the English Civil War, and the Chartist uprising, the bridge played a significant, if ineffectual, role in defending Monmouth.
context_section_description: Neither Monmouth nor its castle were attacked in the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr between 1400 and 1415, although nearby Abergavenny 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 town changed hands several times, and in 1645 the bridge was seized by Royalist 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 battlements were replaced with solid walls, and the building was refitted to form a two-storey dwelling house with timber and lath 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 as part of a property exchange. The gatehouse roof was reconstructed in 1832, with deeper eaves and four decorative corbels 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 gatehouse was garrisoned 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 musketry in anticipation of the advance of the Chartists", but Rowlands shows that the apertures are visible in illustrations of the gatehouse long before 1839.
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caption: Sketch by J. M. W. Turner, 1795
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