Caldicot
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 Caldicot Cross in the town centre, a memorial to the deaths of local soldiers inWorld War I,World War II and other conflicts. | |
  Caldicot Location withinMonmouthshire | |
| Population | 9,813 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST475885 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CALDICOT |
| Postcode district | NP26 |
| Dialling code | 01291 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
51°35′28″N2°44′57″W / 51.5910°N 2.7492°W /51.5910; -2.7492  Map of the community | |
Caldicot (Welsh:Cil-y-coed) is amarket town andcommunity inMonmouthshire,Wales. The town is located betweenChepstow and the city ofNewport. The site adjoins theCaldicot Levels, on the north side of theSevern Estuary. The population of the built-up area was around 11,000. It has a large school,Caldicot School, and is known for itsmedieval castle. The built-up area includesPortskewett. Caldicot had a population of 9,604 in 2011.[2]
There was considerable activity in the area during theBronze Age. Excavations near the Nedern Brook besidethe castle revealed a plank from a boat and complex wooden structures in the former river bed. The boat probably traded across the Severn with the farmers and traders ofSomerset. Later, inRoman times, it is likely that trading vessels sailed up the Nedern Brook toCaerwent. The discovery of kilns also shows that coarse pottery was produced in the village during Roman times.[3]
The name 'Caldicot' is usually stated to derive from the Old English phrasecalde cot meaning 'cold hut'. A cold hut is an exposed shelter used by either humans or animals. The modern Welsh name,Cil-y-coed, meaning "corner of the wood", referring toWentwood, was proposed by the 19th-century lexicographerWilliam Owen Pughe as the origin of the English name, but his hypothesis has been discredited.[4] The modern use of this form has been described as a "very recent innovation".[5]
In 1074, following theNorman Conquest, the manor of Caldicot was given to Durand, theSheriff ofGloucester. Caldicot was recorded in Gloucestershire by theDomesday Book in 1086. Its entry reads,Durand the Sheriff holds of the King, one land, in Caerwent, called Caldicot. He has in demesne there 3 ploughs, and 15 half villeins, and 4 bondmen, and one knight. All these have twelve ploughs. There is a mill worth ten shillings.
One of the oldest buildings in Caldicot,Llanthony Secunda Manor, was built around 1120 as agrange for monks fromLlanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucester.[6]
In 1158 the manor of Caldicot passed toHumphrey II de Bohun, who was responsible for building the stone keep and curtain walls of the present-daycastle. In 1376 it passed toThomas of Woodstock, fifth son ofKing Edward III, when he marriedEleanor de Bohun. It began to fall into ruins around the 16th century.
Caldicot is one of the few villages to appear on theCambriae Typus map of 1573.[7]
By the mid-19th century, Caldicot was a small farming village. However, the opening of the South Wales Railway brought London and Cardiff within relatively easy reach (although Caldicot station itself was not opened until 1936). The railway attracted industry, and 1862 Henry Hughes ofTintern opened a wireworks next to the railway, becoming the village's major employer and attracting many new workers. In 1880 it became a tinplate works for the canning industry. In 1879 work began on theSevern Tunnel, which was opened in 1886. Its construction brought hundreds of workers to Caldicot, roughly doubling its population.[8][9]
Court House was the home of the bakerHenry Jones, the inventor ofself-raising flour, from 1864 until his death in 1891. He is buried in the churchyard.[10]
During the first half of the 20th century, Caldicot continued to grow steadily, but unspectacularly, reaching a population of 1,770 in 1951. Early in the 1950s, however,Chepstow Rural District Council decided that the village should be allowed to expand to approximately 3,000. Shortly after this decision, the government decided to build a new steelworks atLlanwern. Caldicot was designated as a suitable home for the thousands of steelworkers, and expansion plans were revised upwards.Llanwern steelworks opened in 1962, and by the end of the decade Caldicot had over 7,000 residents.[8]
The growth of the community was furthered by the opening of theSevern Bridge in 1966. With Caldicot now being part of the "M4 corridor" new businesses, such as the telecommunication companyMitel, came to the town, compensating for the contraction of the steel industry and the railways.[8]
Theparish church of St Mary, also called St Mary Virgin Church,[11] is aChurch in Walesparish church. There is evidence that the church has pre-Norman foundations; however, the earliest part of the building dates from the 14th century. It is aGrade I listed building. It is mainly built in thePerpendicular style of the late 14th and 15th centuries.
Caldicot School was substantially rebuilt and the new buildings opened in September 2017.[12][13] It will house all subject departments in one single building. The project was part of the Welsh Government's "21st Century Schools & Education Capital Programme". The new building has capacity for 1,500 pupils and was to cost £31million[14] which then rose to £34.9 million. By October 2016, the total cost was said to have risen to £40.175 million.[15]
Caldicot Town Council comprises seventeen elected or co-opted town councillors, from five communitywards, namelyCastle, Dewstow, Green Lane,Severn andWest End.[16]Caldicot Castle, Dewstow, Green Lane, Severn and West End are also county wards toMonmouthshire County Council, each electing one county councillor.[17]
Caldicot is the location ofCaldicot Castle and lake. The area has popular waymarked footpaths along theCaldicot Levels and the coastal path can be walked. Nearby areCaerwent andWentwood. To the north-west,Dewstow House dates from c.1804. Extensive gardens and grottoes built after 1895 have been undergoing restoration since 2000 and are now open to the public.
Five primary schools are located in the area, two of which were created from local Infant and Junior Schools. Durand Primary (with nursery), Ysgol Gymraeg Y Ffin (Welsh-medium education provision for south Monmouthshire), Castle Park Primary (formed from Sandy Lane Infant School and St Mary's Juniors), Dewstow Primary (formally of West End Infants and Green Lane Juniors) and ARW (Archbishop Rowan Williams Church of Wales Primary School) inPortskewett. Caldicot is the nearest town to the Welsh side opening of theSevern railway tunnel, although the nearest station serving the line through the tunnel,Severn Tunnel Junction, is atRogiet, a village which was developed in modern times largely to service the railway. Caldicot library was built in 1995. Caldicot Leisure Centre has a sports centre, one of four leisure centres in Monmouthshire. Its facilities include an indoor swimming pool, squash courts and both indoor and outdoor games pitches, and a gym. The Leisure Centre is located next to Caldicot School.[18][19][20] A new astroturf pitch was built before 2013.
Caldicot station on theGloucester–Newport line serves the town, with services to cities likeNewport,Cardiff andGloucester as well toBristol. Transport by road allows access to theM4 /M48 motorway. There is also access by road across theSecond Severn Crossing andSevern Bridge toBristol andSouth England.
Caldicot istwinned withWaghäusel,Germany andMorières-lès-AvignonFrance.
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