51°34′12″N2°49′30″W / 51.57°N 2.825°W /51.57; -2.825
TheCaldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarinealluvialwetland andintertidalmudflats adjoining the north bank of theSevern Estuary, either side of theRiver Uskestuary nearNewport in south eastWales. They are also known collectively as theMonmouthshire Levels orGwent Levels,[1] and the name Wentloog is sometimes spelledWentlooge in official publications.
TheCaldicot Level lies to the southeast of Newport between theRiver Usk andRiver Wye and consists of 17,500 acres (71 km2). It is home toNewport Wetlands Reserve. TheWentloog Level lies to the southwest between the River Usk andRhymney River and consists of 8,500 acres (34 km2). They are anagricultural region interspersed withsuburban development.[2]
The levels are formed from tidal deposits andalluvium, which have been recurrently inundated and reclaimed from the Severn Estuary by humans sinceRoman times. They have been patterns of settlement, enclosure and drainage systems belonging to successive periods of use, and are extremely richarchaeologically, with finds from theMesolithic,Bronze Age andIron Age periods.
They are an important wetland resource. Parts have been designated asSites of Special Scientific Interest. They are registered as aLandscape of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales.[3]
There have been variations in both land and sea levels in the Severn Estuary since the start of human habitation in the area. The Levels have been reclaimed from the sea at different times during the historic period, preserving evidence of patterns of settlement, enclosure and drainage systems.[4] Mesolithic and later remains have been discovered atGoldcliff, and late Mesolithic human footprints atUskmouth.
One of the most significant finds was of a 3rd-centuryRomano-British boat found atWilcrick nearMagor.[3] The Romans occupied the area from the 2nd to the 4th centuries. In 1878, a boundary stone marking the building of 33 paces of embankment by Roman soldiers was discovered at Goldcliff. Research suggests that, initially, reclamation of the naturalsalt marsh for farmland began at a few "island" sites within the marshes, such as atNash andRedwick, before a sea wall was built along the whole coast.[5]
Goldcliff Priory was established in 1113 and together with other major landowners took responsibility for further drainage work in the area. Settlements became established, linked bydroveways such as the Whitewall at Magor, and land was gradually reclaimed for pasture and arable use. A large number ofAnglo-Norman sites includingcastles, churches, court houses,manor houses, moated sites andwatermills show near-continuous occupation throughout theMiddle Ages.
TheBristol Channel floods of 30 January 1607(New style), caused by either astorm surge or atsunami, resulted in the drowning of an estimated 2,000 people, with houses and villages swept away, an estimated 200 square miles (518 km2) of farmland inundated and livestock destroyed.[6] This wasone of the worst natural disasters recorded in Britain.
Most of the levels has been the subject of artificial drainage schemes, and the area is criss-crossed by drainage channels, known locally as 'reens'.[7] Many of these are now managed by the Caldicot and Wentlooge LevelsInternal Drainage Board.
In 1531,Henry VIII set up Courts of Sewers to improve drainage, but without any powers to oblige landowners to carry out work. In 1828 theCommissioners for Sewers ordered a series of maps of the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels fromThomas Morris, a surveyor based in Newport.[8] In 1884, the Caldicot and Wentlooge Level Act established a new body, the Monmouthshire Commissioners of Sewers, with responsibility for maintaining sea walls and roads in the Levels. Thelong title of the Act is"An Act to provide for the commutation of the liability of Landowners in the Levels of thehundreds of Caldicot and Wentlooge in theCounty of Monmouth to maintain sea walls and other works to provide for the making and maintaining of roads in the said Levels and for other purposes."
This was superseded in 1942 by the Caldicot and Wentlooge Levels Drainage Board, now theInternal Drainage Board or IDB.[9] In 2012, the IDB was criticised in a report by theWales Audit Office for overpaying staff, paying for trips abroad for its members, and acting unlawfully on other occasions. The IDB accepted the report and stated that the organisation's management had changed substantially since the time of the offences.[10]Newport West MPPaul Flynn called for further police investigation into what had happened.[11]
The pattern of ditches now found on the Caldicot Level has been complicated by the construction of theNewport Wetlands Reserve. Whereas theraison d'etre of all previous reens and ditches had been to drain the land, the aim of the network of new waterways constructed as part of the reserve has been to keep the land flooded, albeit with fresh water.[12]
The levels support the following rare species:
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