Abergavenny
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 The clock tower ofAbergavenny Town Hall, Cross Street | |
  Abergavenny Location withinMonmouthshire | |
| Population | 13,695 (2021)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SO295145 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ABERGAVENNY |
| Postcode district | NP7 |
| Dialling code | 01873 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
51°49′26″N3°01′00″W / 51.824°N 3.0167°W /51.824; -3.0167  Map of the community | |
Abergavenny (/ˌæbərɡəˈvɛni/;Welsh:Y Fenni,pronounced[əˈvɛnɪ], archaicallyAbergafenni,'mouth of theRiver Gavenny') is amarket town andcommunity inMonmouthshire,Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from theborder with England and is located where theA40 trunk road and the recently upgradedA465 Heads of the Valleys road meet.[2][3]
Originally the site of aRoman fort,Gobannium, it became amedievalwalled town within theWelsh Marches. The town contains the remains of a medieval stonecastle built soon after theNorman conquest of Wales.
Abergavenny is situated at theconfluence of theRiver Usk and atributary stream, the Gavenny.[4] It is almost entirely surrounded by mountains and hills: theBlorenge (559 m, 1,834 ft),[5] theSugar Loaf (596 m, 1,955 ft),Skirrid Fawr (Great Skirrid),Ysgyryd Fach (Little Skirrid), Deri, Rholben and Mynydd Llanwenarth, known locally as "Llanwenarth Breast". Abergavenny provides access to the nearbyBlack Mountains and the widerBrecon Beacons National Park. TheCambrian Way,Beacons Way andMarches Way pass through Abergavenny whilst theOffa's Dyke Path passes throughPandy five miles to the north and theUsk Valley Walk passes through nearbyLlanfoist.
In the UK 2011 census, the six relevant wards (Lansdown, Grofield,Castle, Croesonen, Cantref andPriory) collectively listed Abergavenny's population as 12,515. The town hosted the 2016National Eisteddfod of Wales.
The town derives its name from aBrythonic wordGobannia meaning "river of the blacksmiths", and relates to the town's pre-Roman importance in ironsmelting. The name is related to the modern Welsh wordgof (blacksmith), and so is also associated with the Welsh smithGofannon from folklore. The river later became, in Welsh,Gafenni, and the town's name becameAbergafenni, meaning "mouth of (Welsh:Aber) the Gavenny (Gafenni)". In Welsh, the shortened formY Fenni may have come into use after about the 15th century, and is now used as the Welsh name. Abergavenny, the English spelling, is in general use.[6]
The town originally developed on the high ground to the north of thefloodplain of the River Usk and to the west of the valley of the much smaller Gavenny River though has since extended to the east of the latter. It has merged with the originally separate settlement of Mardy to the north but remains separate from that of Llanfoist to the south due to the presence of the river and its floodplain; nevertheless Llanfoist is in many ways a suburb of the town. The ground rises gradually in the north of the town before steepening to form the Deri and Rholben spurs of Sugar Loaf. The A4143 crossing of the Usk by means of the historicUsk Bridge is sited at the narrowest point of the floodplain, a site also chosen for the former crossing of a tramroad and the later mainline railway. The high ground at either side is formed by a legacy of the last ice age, therecessional Llanfoist moraine which underlies both the village which gives it its name, the town centre and theNevill Hall area. The older parts of the town north of its centre are built upon a relatively flat-lyingalluvial fan extending west from the area of St Mary's Priory to Cantref and of similar age to the moraine.[7]
In the UK 2011 census, the six relevant wards (Lansdown, Grofield,Castle, Croesonen, Cantref andPriory) collectively listed Abergavenny's population as 12,515.[8][9][10][11][12][13]
Gobannium was a Roman fort guarding the road along the valley of the River Usk,[4] which linked the legionary fortress ofBurrium (Usk) and laterIsca Augusta or Isca Silurum (Caerleon) in the south withY Gaer, Brecon andMid Wales. It was also built to keep the peace among the localBritish Iron Age tribe, theSilures.[14]Cadw considers that the fort was occupied from around CE50 to CE150.[15] Remains of the walls of this fort were discovered west of the castle when excavating the foundations for a newpost office andtelephone exchange building in the late 1960s.[16]
Abergavenny grew as a town in earlyNorman times under the protection of theBaron Bergavenny (or Abergavenny). The first Baron wasHamelin de Balun, fromBallon, a small town with a castle inMaine-Anjou nearLe Mans. Today it is in theSarthe département of France. He founded theBenedictinepriory, now thePriory Church of St Mary, in the late 11th century. The Priory belonged originally to theBenedictine foundation of St. Vincent Abbaye at Le Mans. It was subsequently endowed byWilliam de Braose, with atithe of the profits of the castle and town.[17] The church contains some uniquealabastereffigies,church monuments and unique medieval wood carving, such as theTree of Jesse.[18]
Owing to its geographical location, the town was frequently embroiled in the border warfare and power play of the 12th and 13th centuries in the Welsh Marches. In 1175,Abergavenny Castle was the site of a massacre ofSeisyll ap Dyfnwal and his associates byWilliam de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber.[19] Reference to a market at Abergavenny is found in a charter granted to the Prior by William de Braose.[17]
Owain Glyndŵr attacked Abergavenny in 1404. According to popular legend, his raiders gained access to the walled town with the aid of a local woman who sympathised with the rebellion, letting a small party in via the Market Street gate at midnight. They were able to open the gate and allow a much larger party who set fire to the town and plundered its churches and homes leaving Abergavenny Castle intact. Market Street has been referred to as "Traitors' Lane" thereafter. In 1404 Abergavenny was declared its own nation byIeuan ab Owain Glyndŵr, illegitimate son ofOwain Glyndŵr. The arrangement lasted approximately two weeks.[20][21]
At theDissolution of the Monasteries in 1541, the priory's endowment went towards the foundation of a freegrammar school,King Henry VIII Grammar School, the site itself passing to the Gunter family.[17] During theCivil War, prior to the siege ofRaglan Castle in 1645,King Charles I visited Abergavenny and presided in person over the trial ofSir Trefor Williams, 1st Baronet ofLlangibby, aRoyalist who changed sides, and otherParliamentarians.[17] In 1639, Abergavenny received acharter of incorporation under the title ofbailiff andburgesses. A charter with extended privileges was drafted in 1657, but appears never to have been enrolled or to have come into effect. Owing to the refusal of the chief officers of the corporation to take theoath of allegiance toWilliam III in 1688, the charter was annulled, and the town subsequently declined in prosperity. Chapter 28 of the1535 Act of Henry VIII, which provided that Monmouth, ascounty town, should return one burgess to Parliament, further stated that otherancient Monmouthshire boroughs were to contribute towards the payment of the member. In consequence of this clause Abergavenny on various occasions shared in the election, the last instance being in 1685.[17]
The right to hold two weekly markets and three yearlyfairs, beginning in the 13th century, was held ever since as confirmed in 1657.[22] Abergavenny was celebrated for the production of Welshflannel, and also for the manufacture, whilst the fashion prevailed, of goats' hairperiwigs.[17]
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Abergavenny railway station, situated southeast of the town centre, opened on 2 January 1854 as part of theNewport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. TheLondon North Western Railway sponsored the construction of the railway linkingNewport station toHereford station. The line was taken over by theWest Midland Railway in 1860 before becoming part of theGreat Western Railway in 1863. A railway line also ran up the valley towardsBrynmawr and toMerthyr Tydfil; this was closed during theBeeching cuts in the 1960s and the line toClydach Gorge is now a cycle track and footpath. TheBaker Street drill hall was completed in 1896.[23]Adolf Hitler's deputy,Rudolf Hess, was kept under escort atMaindiff Court Hospital during theSecond World War, after his flight to Britain.[24] In 1964, theRoyal Observer Corps opened a small monitoring bunker to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. It was closed in 1968 but reopened in 1973 due to the closure of a bunker nearBrynmawr. It closed in 1991 on the stand down of the ROC. It remains mostly intact.[25]
The title ofBaron Abergavenny was first held by the Beauchamp family. In the late 14th century thereversion of the feudal marcher barony (with the castle, town and surrounding lands appurtenant) was purchased from John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, who had no heirs, by William Beauchamp, the second son of the Earl of Warwick; and he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Bergavenny. On his death, his wife Joan held the entire barony in survivorship for life until 1435, at which time it passed into the Nevill family; Joan's granddaughter Elizabeth, heir to the barony, married a Neville,Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny.[26] From him it has descended continuously, the title being increased to anearldom in 1784; and in 1876William Nevill [sic] 5th Earl, an indefatigable and powerful supporter of theConservative Party, was created 1stMarquess of Abergavenny.[17]
Coldbrook Park was a country house in an estate some1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) southeast of the town. The house was originally built in the 14th century and belonged to the Herbert family for many generations until purchased by John Hanbury for his son, the diplomat SirCharles Hanbury Williams.[27] Sir Charles reconstructed the house in 1746 with the addition of a nine-bay two-storeyGeorgianfaçade with aDoricportico. It was subsequently passed down in the Hanbury Williams family until it was demolished in 1954.[28]
Held during the first week of August every year, theNational Eisteddfod is a celebration of the culture and language in Wales. The festival travels from place to place, alternating between north and south Wales, attracting around 150,000 visitors and over 250 tradestands and stalls. In 2016 it was held in Abergavenny for the first time since 1913. The Chair and Crown for 2016 were presented to the festival's Executive Committee at a ceremony held in Monmouth on 14 June 2016.[29]
TheAbergavenny Food Festival is held in the second week of September each year. The Steam, Veteran and Vintage Rally takes place in May every year. The event expands year on year with the 2016 rally including a rock choir, shire horses, motorcycling stunts, vintage cars and steam engines.[30] The Country and Western Music Festival is attended by enthusiasts ofcountry music. It marked its third year in 2016 and was attended by acts including Ben Thompson, LA Country and many more. The event was last held in 2017.[31][32] The Abergavenny Writing Festival began in April 2016 and is a celebration of writing and the written word.[33] The Abergavenny Arts Festival, first held in 2018, celebrates arts in their broadest sense and showcases amateur and professional artists from the vibrant local arts scene together with some from further afield.[34]
In recent decades, the number of Welsh speakers in the town has increased dramatically. The 2001 census recorded that 10% of the local population spoke the language, a five-fold increase over ten years from the figure of 2% recorded in 1991.[35] The town has one of the two Welsh-medium primary schools in Monmouthshire, Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni,[36] which was founded in the early 1990s. It is also home to the Abergavenny Welsh society, Cymreigyddion y Fenni,[37] and the local Abergavenny Eisteddfod.[38]
Abergavenny was the home ofAbergavenny Thursdays F.C., formed in 1927 and merged with Govilon, the local village side in 2013. The new club,Abergavenny Town F.C., plays at the Pen-y-pound Stadium, maintained and run by Thursday’s football trust, as members of theArdal South East league (tier 3) for the 2021–22 season. It is also the home ofAbergavenny RFC, arugby union club founded in 1875 that plays atBailey Park, Abergavenny. In the 2018–19 season, they play in theWelsh Rugby Union Division Three East A league.[39] AbergavennyHockey Club, formed in 1897, currently play at the Abergavenny Leisure Centre on Old Hereford Road.[40]
Abergavenny Cricket Club play atPen-y-Pound, Avenue Road andGlamorgan CCC also play some of their games here. Abergavenny Cricket Club was founded in 1834 and celebrated the 175th anniversary of its foundation in 2009.[41] Abergavenny Tennis Club also play atPen-y-Pound and plays in the South Wales Doubles League and Aegon Team Tennis. The club engages the services of a head tennis professional to run a coaching programme for the town and was crownedTennis Wales' Club of the Year in 2010.[42] Abergavenny hosted theBritish National Cycling Championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014, as part of the town's Festival of Cycling.[43]
Acattle market was held in Abergavenny from 1863 to December 2013.[4][44] From 1825 to 1863 asheep market was held at a site in Castle Street, to stop the sale of sheep on the streets of the town. When the market closed, the site was leased and operated by Abergavenny Market Auctioneers Ltd, who held regular livestock auctions on the site. Market days were held on Tuesdays for the auction sale of finished sheep, cull ewe/store and fodder (hay and straw), and on some Fridays for the auction sale of cattle. AfterNewport's cattle market closed in 2009 for redevelopment, Newport's sales were held at Abergavenny every Wednesday.[45]
In 2011 doubts about the future of Abergavenny Cattle Market were raised afterMonmouthshire County Council granted planning permission for its demolition and replacement with a supermarket, car park, and library.[46] In January 2012 the Welsh Government announced the repeal of the Abergavenny Improvement Acts of 1854 to 1871 which obliged the holding of a livestock market within the boundaries of Abergavenny town;[47] that repeal being effective from 26 March 2012.[48] The county council, which requested that the Abergavenny Improvement Acts be repealed, supported plans for a new cattle market to be established about 10 miles (16 km) from Abergavenny in countryside at Bryngwyn, some 3 miles (5 km) fromRaglan. There was local opposition to this site.[49][50][51] The new Monmouthshire Livestock Centre, a 27-acre site at Bryngwyn, opened in November 2013.[52]
Abergavenny has hosted theNational Eisteddfod of Wales in 1838, 1913 and most recently in 2016. In 2017 the town was named one of the best places to live in Wales.[53][54] The town's local radio stations are currently[when?]Sunshine Radio 107.8 FM and NH Sound 1287 AM. Abergavenny is home to an award-winning brass band.[55] Formed in Abergavenny prior to 1884,[56] the band were joint National Welsh League Champions in 2006[57] and joint National Welsh League Champions in 2011.[58] The band also operates a Junior Band training local young musicians.
TheBorough Theatre in Abergavenny town centre hosts live events covering drama, opera, ballet, music, children's events, dance, comedy, storytelling, tribute bands and talks.[59] The Melville Centre is close to the town centre and includes the Melville Theatre, which hosts a range of live events.[60] The town held its first Abergavenny Arts Festival in 2018[61] and also hosts theAbergavenny Food Festival in September each year.[62]
William Shakespeare's playHenry VIII features the character Lord Abergavenny. In 1968 "Abergavenny" was the title of a UK single byMarty Wilde. In 1969, it was also released in the US, under a Marty Wilde pseudonymShannon, where it was also a minor hit.[63] InThe Adventure of the Priory SchoolSherlock Holmes refers to a case he is working on in Abergavenny.[64] Abergavenny is mentioned by Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus when the bus takes a detour there to drop off a passenger inJ. K. Rowling'sHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The TV seriesUpstairs, Downstairs, features a character in the second season,Thomas Watkins, the devious Bellamy familychauffeur, who comes from Abergavenny. In the 1979 spinoff ofUpstairs, Downstairs titledThomas & Sarah, Watkins andSarah Moffat, another major character, marry and return briefly to Abergavenny. * Much of the 1996 film,Intimate Relations starringJulie Walters,Rupert Graves,Les Dennis andAmanda Holden, was filmed at many locations in and around Abergavenny.
Abergavenny railway station lies on theWelsh Marches Line fromNewport toHereford. The weekday daytime service pattern typically sees one train per hour in each direction betweenManchester Piccadilly andCardiff Central, with most trains continuing beyond Cardiff toSwansea and west Wales. There is also a two-hourly service between Cardiff and theNorth Wales Coast Line toHolyhead, viaWrexham General. These services are all operated byTransport for Wales.[65]
The town is located where theA40 trunk road and theA465Heads of the Valleys road meet. The latter used to meet the A40 in the town centre but the A465 now runs to the east of the town centre.
A network of services link the town with local villages. In addition,Stagecoach South Wales operate service 23 toHereford and Newport approximately every two hours whileNewport Bus operates service 83 toMonmouth.
Abergavenny Castle is located strategically just south of the town centre overlooking theRiver Usk. It was built in about 1067 by the Norman baronHamelin de Ballon to guard against incursions by the Welsh from the hills to the north and west. All that remains is defensive ditches and the ruins of the stone keep, towers, and part of the curtain wall. It is aGrade I listed building.[66]
Various markets are held in the Market Hall, for example: Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays – retail market; Wednesdays – flea market; fourth Thursday of each month –farmers' market; third Sunday of each month – antique fair; second Saturday of each month – craft fair.[67]
TheChurch in Wales church of the Holy Trinity is in theDiocese of Monmouth. Holy Trinity Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Llandaff on 6 November 1840. It was originally built as a chapel to serve the adjacent almshouses and the nearby school. It has been Grade II listed since January 1974.
Other listed buildings in the town include the parishPriory Church of St Mary, a medieval and Victorian building that was originally the church of the Benedictine priory founded in Abergavenny before 1100; the sixteenth centuryTithe Barn near St Mary's; the Victorian Church of the Holy Trinity; the Grade II* listedSt John's Masonic Lodge;Abergavenny Museum; the Public Library; theTown Hall; and the remains ofAbergavenny town walls behind Neville Street.[68]
From 1851, the Monmouthshire lunatic asylum, laterPen-y-Fal Hospital, apsychiatric hospital, stood on the outskirts of Abergavenny. Between 1851 and 1950, over 3,000 patients died at the hospital. A memorial plaque for the deceased has now been placed at the site. After its closure in the 1990s, its buildings and grounds were redeveloped as housing.[69] Some psychiatric services are now administered fromMaindiff Court Hospital on the outskirts of the town, close to the foot of theSkirrid mountain.
Abergavenny has three publicurban parks which are listed on theRegister of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: the grounds ofAbergavenny Castle,[70]Linda Vista Gardens[71] andBailey Park.[72] A fourth registered garden, at The Hill to the north of the town, forms part of the grounds of a residential development.[73]
Abergavenny istwinned with:
One of the elevenVictoria Cross medals won atRorke's Drift was awarded to John Fielding from Abergavenny. He had enlisted under the false name ofWilliams. One was also awarded for the same action toRobert Jones, born at Clytha between Abergavenny andRaglan. Another Abergavenny-born soldier,Thomas Monaghan received his VC for defending his colonel during theIndian Rebellion. In 1908 following the formation of theTerritorial Force the Abergavenny Cadet Corps was formed and affiliated with the 3rd Battalion,The Monmouthshire Regiment. In 1912 the regiment was affiliated with the new formed 1st Cadet Battalion,The Monmouthshire Regiment.[75]
See alsoCategory:People from Abergavenny
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abergavenny".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 53.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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