View source for Monmouthshire

{{Short description|County in south east Wales}}
{{good article}}
{{about|the principal area|the historic county|Monmouthshire (historic)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Monmouthshire
| native_name             = {{native name|cy|Sir Fynwy}}
| settlement_type         = [[Principal areas of Wales|County]]
| image_skyline           = {{multiple image |border=infobox |perrow=1/2 |total_width=270
 | image1 = Autumn view from the Kymin - 2 - geograph.org.uk - 2171172.jpg
 | image2 = Ragland.jpg
 | image3 = Old Severn Bridge HDR.jpg
 }}
| imagesize               = 
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = {{ubl|Clockwise from top:|[[The Kymin|View over Monmouthshire from The Kymin]]|[[Severn Bridge]]|[[Raglan Castle]]}}
| image_flag              = 
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = Arms of Monmouthshire County Council.svg
| shield_alt              = 
| shield_link             = 
| image_blank_emblem      = 
| blank_emblem_size       = 
| blank_emblem_type       = 
| blank_emblem_link       = 
| etymology               = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = {{langx |la|Utrique Fidelis |translation=faithful to both}}
| image_map               = Monmouthshire UK location map.svg
| map_alt                 = 
| map_caption             = Monmouthshire shown within [[Wales]]
| coordinates             = {{coord|51|47|N|2|52|W|region:GB_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type        = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name        = [[United Kingdom]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Wales]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Regions of Wales|Region]]
| subdivision_name2       = 
| subdivision_type3       = [[Preserved counties of Wales|Preserved county]]
| subdivision_name3       = [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]
| subdivision_type4       = 
| subdivision_name4       = 
| established_title       = Incorporated
| established_date        = [[Local Government (Wales) Act 1994|1 April 1996]]
| established_title1      = 
| established_date1       = 
| named_for               = 
| seat_type               = Administrative{{nbsp}}HQ
| seat                    = [[Usk]]
| parts_type              = 
| parts                   = 
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes    = <ref name="Council leadership">{{cite web |url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/your-council/ |title=Your Council |website=Monmouthshire County Council |date=June 2024 |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref>
| government_type         = [[Local government in Wales#Principal councils|Principal council]]
| governing_body          = [[Monmouthshire County Council]]
| leader_title            = 
| leader_name             = 
| leader_title1           = [[Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom|Control]]
| leader_name1            = {{UK council control|GSS=W06000021}}
| leader_title2           = 
| leader_name2            = 
| leader_title3           = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MPs]]
| leader_name3            = [[Catherine Fookes]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|L]])
| leader_title4           = [[Member of the Senedd|MSs]]
| leader_name4            = {{unbulleted list
 |[[Peter Fox (Welsh politician)|Peter Fox]] ([[Welsh Conservatives|C]])
 |[[John Griffiths (Welsh politician)|John Griffiths]] ([[Welsh Labour|L]])
 }}
 +4 [[South Wales East (Senedd electoral region)|regional members]]
<!-- Area -->
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="popstats">{{UK subdivision statistics citation}}</ref>
| area_total_km2          = {{UK subdivision area|GSS=W06000021}}
| area_land_km2           = 
| area_water_km2          = 
| area_rank               = [[List of Welsh principal areas|{{Welsh council area rank|GSS=W06000021}}]]
<!-- Population -->
| population_footnotes    = <ref name="popstats" />
| population_as_of        = {{UK subdivision statistics year}}
| population_total        = {{UK subdivision population|GSS=W06000021}}
| population_rank         = [[List of Welsh principal areas|{{Welsh council population rank|GSS=W06000021}}]]
| population_density_km2  = {{UK subdivision density|GSS=W06000021}}
| population_demonym      = 
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1      = 
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1    = 
| demographics1_info1     = 
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2      = [[Welsh language]] <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/W06000021/ |title=How life has changed in Monmouthshire: Census 2021 |date=19 January 2023 |website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=6 August 2024 }}</ref>
| demographics2_title1    = Speakers
| demographics2_info1     = 8.7%
| demographics2_title2    = Rank
| demographics2_info2     = [[List of Welsh principal areas by percentage Welsh language|22nd]]
| timezone1               = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| utc_offset1             = +0
| timezone1_DST           = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +1
<!-- Codes -->
| postal_code_type        = [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom|Postcode areas]]
| postal_code             = 
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|Dialling codes]]
| area_code               = 
| iso_code                = [[ISO 3166-2:GB|GB-MON]]
| blank1_name             = [[GSS coding system|GSS code]]
| blank1_info             = W06000021
| website                 = {{URL|monmouthshire.gov.uk}}
}}
'''Monmouthshire''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|n|m|ə|θ|ʃ|ər|,_|ˈ|m|ʌ|n|-|,_|-|ʃ|ɪər}} {{Respell|MON|məth|shər|,_|MUN|-,_-|sheer}}; {{langx|cy|Sir Fynwy}}) is a [[Principal areas of Wales|county]] in the [[South East Wales|south east]] of [[Wales]]. It borders [[Powys]] to the north; the English counties of [[Herefordshire]] and [[Gloucestershire]] to the north and east; the [[Severn Estuary]] to the south, and [[Torfaen]], [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] and [[Blaenau Gwent]] to the west. The largest town is [[Abergavenny]], and the administrative centre is [[Usk]]. 

The county is rural, although adjacent to the city of Newport and the urbanised [[South Wales Valleys]]. It has an area of {{Convert|330|sqmi|km2}} and a population of {{UK subdivision population|GSS=W06000021}}. Abergavenny is located in the north-east, and Usk in near the centre; other settlements include [[Monmouth]] in the east, [[Chepstow]] in the south-east, [[Caldicot]] in the south. [[Monmouthshire County Council]] is the local authority. Monmouthshire was established in 1996 and is named after the [[Monmouthshire (historic)|historic county of the same name]], of which it covers approximately the eastern three-fifths. The county has one of the lowest percentages of [[Welsh language|Welsh speakers]] in Wales, at 8.2% of the population in 2021.

The lowlands in the centre of Monmouthshire are gently undulating, and shaped by the [[River Usk]] and its tributaries. The west of the county is hilly, and the [[Black Mountains, Wales|Black Mountains]] in the north-west are part of the [[Brecon Beacons National Park]]. The border with England in the east largely follows the course of the [[River Wye]] and its tributary, the [[River Monnow]]. In the south east is the [[Wye Valley]], a hilly region which stretches into England and which has been designated an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]. The county has a shoreline on the [[Severn Estuary]], with crossings into England by the [[Severn Bridge]] and [[Prince of Wales Bridge]].

The [[Gwent Levels]] in the south of the county contain signs of human occupation dating back eight [[millennium|millennia]]. During the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]], south-east Wales was settled by the [[Silures]], who opposed the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] before being subdued. The ruins of [[Venta Silurum]], in modern-day [[Caerwent]], are evidence of Roman rule. The sub-Roman history of the county is poorly documented but saw the founding of petty kingdoms, including [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]]. The area was part of the [[Welsh Marches]] during the Middle Ages and was frequently contested, as reflected in its "fine collection" of castles. In the seventeenth century, [[Raglan Castle]] was among the last [[Cavalier|Royalist]] strongholds to fall to [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] forces in the [[English Civil War]], and the county became a [[recusancy|recusant stronghold]] in which Catholics were widely persecuted. In the mid-19th century, [[John Frost (Chartist)|John Frost]] and other [[Chartism|Chartist]] leaders were tried and sentenced to death at the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth]] after the "first mass movement of the [[working class]]" in Britain. At the same time, the [[Wye Tour]] and the ruins [[Tintern Abbey]] drew tourists to the county. In the 21st century the economy is based on the [[service sector]], agriculture and tourism. 

==History==
===Pre-History===
[[File:Hillfort, Skirrid Fawr, Llantilio Pertholey.JPG|thumb|left|[[Hillfort]] on the summit of [[Skirrid Fawr]]]]
{{main|Prehistoric Wales}}

Evidence of human activity in the [[Mesolithic]] period has been found across Monmouthshire; examples include remains on the [[Caldicot and Wentloog Levels]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/historic_landscape/Gwent%20Levels/English/GL_Features.htm|title=Historic Landscape Characterisation - The Gwent Levels|publisher=[[Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust]]|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>{{efn|[[Mesolithic]] footprints, dated to about 8,000 years ago, have been uncovered on the [[foreshore]] of the Severn Estuary at [[Goldcliff]], formerly in Monmouthshire but now in Newport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.selrc.org.uk/maplocation.php?location_id=38|title=Goldcliff Mesolithic Archaeology|publisher=Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee|access-date=17 January 2015}}</ref>}} and at [[Monmouth in the Mesolithic period|Monmouth]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Items found in Monmouth shed light on Mesolithic man|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11710978|newspaper=BBC News|date=8 November 2010|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> A major hoard of [[Bronze Age]] [[axe]]s was discovered at [[St Arvans]].{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=17}} The county has a number of [[List of hillforts in Monmouthshire|hillfort sites]], such as those at [[Bulwark, Chepstow#Bulwarks Camp|Bulwark]]<ref>{{Cadw|uid=2979|class=SM|num=MM093|desc=Bulwarks Prehistoric Enclosure  |access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref> and [[Llanvair Discoed#Llanmelin hill fort|Llanmelin Wood]].<ref>{{Cadw|uid=2965|class=SM|num=MM024|desc=Llanmelin Wood Hillfort|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> The latter has been suggested as the capital of the [[Silures]], a [[Celts|Celtic]] tribe who occupied south-east Wales in the [[Iron Age]].<ref>{{Coflein|num=301559|desc=Llanmelin Wood Hillfort|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> The Silures proved among the most intractable of Rome's opponents; [[Tacitus]] described them as "exceptionally stubborn" and Raymond Howell, in his county history published in 1988, notes that while it took the Romans five years to subdue south-east England, it took thirty-five before complete subjugation of the Silurian territories was achieved.{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=25}}

===Roman period===
[[File:Four Seasons mosaic.jpg|thumb|300px|Four Seasons mosaic from a ''[[domus]]'' at [[Venta Silurum]]]]
{{main|Wales in the Roman era}}

The [[Roman conquest of Britain]] began in AD 43, and within five years the [[Roman Empire]]'s [[Roman legion|legions]] had reached the borders of what is now Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/guide/ch2_wales_and_the_romans.shtml|title=BBC Wales - History - Themes - Wales and the Romans|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> In south east Wales they encountered strong resistance from the Silures, led by [[Caratacus]] (Caradog), who had fled west after the defeat of his own tribe, the [[Catuvellauni]]. His [[Caratacus' last battle|final defeat]] in AD 50 saw his transportation to Rome, but Silurian resistance continued, and the subjugation of the entirety of south east Wales was not achieved until around AD 75, under the governor of Britain, [[Frontinus|Sextus Julius Frontinus]].{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=25}} 

Monmouthshire's most important Roman remains are found at the town of [[Venta Silurum]] ("Market of the Silures"), present-day [[Caerwent]] in the south of the county. The town was established in AD 75,<ref>{{Coflein|num=93753|desc=Caerwent Roman City - Venta Silurum|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> laid out in the traditional rectangular Roman pattern of twenty [[Insula (Roman city)|insulae]] with a [[basilica]] and a temple flanking a [[Forum (Roman)|forum]].{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=29}} Other Roman settlements in the area included [[Blestium]] (Monmouth).<ref>{{Coflein|num=409995|desc=Monmouth Roman fort|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>{{efn|Much the most important Roman site in the area is [[Isca Augusta]], at [[Caerleon]], founded as the headquarters of the [[Legio II Augusta|Augustan Second Legion]] in around AD 75. The site was historically in Monmouthshire, but is now part of [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].<ref>{{Cadw|uid=3303|class=SM|num=MM230|desc=Caerleon Legionary Fortress|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>}} The [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanisation]] of Monmouthshire was not without continuing civil unrest; the defences at Caerwent, and at Caerleon, underwent considerable strengthening in the late [[2nd century]] in response to disturbances. The Silurian identity was not extinguished: the establishment of a ''Respublica Civitatis Silurium'' (an early town council) at the beginning of the [[3rd century]] testifies to the longevity of the indigenous tribal culture.{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=30}}

===Sub-Roman period===
{{main|Kingdom of Gwent}}

The [[End of Roman rule in Britain|Roman abandonment of Britain]] from AD 383 saw the division of Wales into a number of [[petty kingdoms]]. In the south east (the present county of Monmouthshire) the [[Kingdom of Gwent]] was established, traditionally by [[Caradoc]], in the 5th or 6th centuries. Its capital, Caerwent, gave the name to the kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/CymruGwent.htm|title=The Celtic kingdoms of Britain|publisher=The History Files|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref> The subsequent history of the area prior to the Norman Conquest is poorly documented and complex. The Kingdom of Gwent frequently fought with the neighbouring Welsh kingdoms, and sometimes joined in alliance with them in, generally successful, attempts to repel the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxons]], their common enemy. The [[Book of Llandaff]] records such a victory over the Saxon invaders achieved by [[Tewdrig]] at a battle near [[Tintern]] in the late 6th century.{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=40}}{{efn|Modern scholarship suggests a greater role for migration, co-existence, and inter-marriage between the incoming Anglos-Saxons and the native inhabitants, and a lesser role for invasion and combat, as recounted by chroniclers from [[Gildas]] onwards.{{sfn|Härke|2011|pp=1–28}}}} An example of the alliances formed by neighbouring petty kings was the [[Kingdom of Morgannwg]], a union between Gwent and its western neighbour, the Kingdom of [[Glywysing]], which formed and reformed between the 8th and the 10th centuries.{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=41}} The common threat they faced is shown in [[Offa's Dyke]], the physical delineation of a border with Wales created by the [[Mercia|Mercian]] [[Offa|king]].{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=45}}{{efn|Raymond Howell, in his county history published in 1988, notes the significance of the retention by the Kingdom of Gwent of both banks of the lower [[River Wye]] at the time of [[Offa]]’s construction work, indicating their ability to treat almost as equals with the most powerful of the Saxon kingdoms.{{sfn|Howell|1988|pp=45–46}}}} For a brief period in the 11th century, Monmouthshire, as Gwent, became part of a united Wales under [[ Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]], but his death in 1063 was soon followed by that of his opponent [[Harold Godwinson]] at the [[Battle of Hastings]], and the re-established unity of the country was to come from Norman dominance.{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=47}}

===Norman period and Middle Ages===
[[File:Chepstow castleS2 stitch.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Chepstow Castle]] – stronghold of the [[Marcher lord|Lords of Striguil]] and "the glory of medieval south Wales"]]
{{main|Welsh Marches}}

The [[Norman invasion of Wales|Norman invasion of South Wales]] from the late 1060s saw the destruction of the Kingdom of Gwent,{{sfn|Davies|1992|pp=100–102}} and its replacement by five [[Marcher Lords|Marcher lordships]] based at [[Striguil]] (Chepstow), Monmouth, Abergavenny, Usk and Caerleon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk/marcher-lordships/|title=Marcher Lordships|first=Hugh|last=Wood}}</ref> The Marcher Lord of Abergavenny, [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester]], described the rule of the lords as ''sicut regale'' ("like unto a king").{{sfn|Nelson|1966|p=?}} The lords established castles, first earth and wood [[motte-and-bailey]] constructions, and later substantial structures in stone. Among the first were [[Chepstow Castle]], begun by [[William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford]] as early as 1067,<ref>{{Cadw|uid=3137|class=SM|num=MM003|desc=Chepstow Castle|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> and that at [[Tregrug Castle|Tregrug]], near [[Llangybi, Monmouthshire|Llangybi]], by de Clare's son, [[Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester|Gilbert]].<ref>{{Cadw|uid=365|class=SM|num=MM109|desc=Llangibby Castle (Castell Tregrug)|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> The historian John Kenyon describes Chepstow as "one of the great strongholds of Europe".{{sfn|Kenyon|2010|p=113}}{{efn|John Kenyon noted that [[Chepstow Castle]] is among the best researched in the British Isles.{{sfn|Kenyon|2010|p=113}}}} In the early Norman period, the cleric and chronicler, [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] (c. 1095 – c. 1155), who may have been born at Monmouth, wrote his ''[[The History of the Kings of Britain]]'', with a focus on [[King Arthur]] and on his capital, [[Camelot]], which Geoffrey located at [[Caerleon]] (now in [[Newport, Wales|Newport]]), and which remained highly influential for centuries, although modern scholars consider it little more than a literary forgery.{{sfn|Wright|1984|loc=xxviii}}{{efn|Howell writes, "as literature, Geoffrey's work was a classic, as history it was virtually useless. Nevertheless, because of wide-spread influence, the myths of Geoffrey became institutionalized as history".{{sfn|Howell|1988|pp=204–205}} Neil Wright is equally clear, "the Historia does not bear scrutiny as an authentic history and no scholar today would regard it as such".{{sfn|Wright|1984|loc=xxviii}}}}

Christmas 1175 saw an outbreak of particular violence in the gradual extension of Norman control over South Wales. The Marcher lord [[William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber|William de Braose]] invited [[Seisyll ap Dyfnwal]], lord of Upper Gwent, and an array of other Welsh notables to a feast at [[Abergavenny Castle]]. De Braose proceeded to have his men massacre the Welsh, before sending them to burn Seisyll's home at [[Castell Arnallt]] and to murder his son, intending the obliteration of the indigenous Gwent aristocracy. A wave of Welsh retaliation followed, described in detail by the contemporary chronicler, [[Gerald of Wales]].{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=58}} 

Monmouthshire's Norman castles later became favoured residences of the [[House of Plantagenet|Plantagenet nobility]]. [[Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster]] (c. 1310–1361), was reputedly born at [[Grosmont Castle]],{{sfn|Ormrod|2005}} home of his father [[Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster]], grandson of [[Henry II of England|Henry III]]. Becoming the richest and among the most powerful lords in England, Grosmont developed the castle as a sumptuous residence, while the village became an important medieval settlement.{{sfn|Knight|2009|p=11}} [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] (1386–1422) was born at his father's castle at [[Monmouth Castle|Monmouth]] in 1386,{{efn|The castle had fallen into ruin by the 17th century; on the occasion of his visit in 1798, [[William Coxe (historian)|Archdeacon Coxe]] described it as presenting "an appearance of dilapidated grandeur".{{sfn|Coxe|1995b|p=303}}}} and his birth, and his most famous [[Battle of Agincourt|military victory]], are commemorated in [[Agincourt Square]] in the town, and by a statue on the frontage of the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth|Shire Hall]] which forms the square's centrepiece.{{sfn|Allmand|2010}}{{efn|[[Henry V of England|Henry]]'s statue is generally considered to be of poor quality; [[John Newman (architectural historian)|John Newman]] thought it "incongruous",{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=401}} Jo Darke called it "decidedly-bad",{{sfn|Darke|1991|p=141}} while the local historian [[Keith Kissack]] criticised it in two separate books, describing it as, "rather deplorable",{{sfn|Kissack|2003|p=33}} and "pathetic...like a hypochondriac inspecting his thermometer".{{sfn|Kissack|1978|p=94}}}} In Henry V's wars in France, he received strong military support from the archers of Gwent, who were famed for their skill with the [[Welsh bow]]. Gerald recorded, "the men of Gwent are more skilled with the bow and arrow than those who come from other parts of Wales".{{sfn|Howell|1988|p=62}}{{efn|The most famous of Henry V's Welsh supporters was [[Dafydd Gam]]. Shakespeare's character, [[Fluellen]], who appears in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' and has been suggested as being modelled on Gam, reminds the king; "If your Majesty is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their [[Monmouth cap]]s, which your Majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service, and I do believe, your Majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wales.britishcouncil.org/en/shakespeare-and-wales#:~:text=Your%20majesty%20says%20very%20true,wear%20the%20leek%20upon%20Saint|first1=David|last1=Cottis|first2=Jessica |last2=Mordsley|title=Shakespeare and Wales|publisher=[[British Council]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>}}

There was a brief reassertion of Welsh autonomy in Monmouthshire during the [[Glyndŵr rebellion]] of 1400 to 1415. Seeking to re-establish Welsh independence, the revolt began in the north, but by 1403 [[Owain Glyndŵr]]'s army was in Monmouthshire, sacking [[Usk]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usktown.org/Glyndwrs_Revolt_18872.aspx|title=The Story of Usk – Glyndwr's Revolt|publisher=Usk Town Council|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref> and securing a victory over the English at [[Cwmcarvan#Craig-y-dorth|Craig-y-dorth]], near [[Cwmcarvan]]. According to the ''Annals of Owain Glyn Dwr'', "there the English were killed for the most part and they were pursued up to the gates of the town" (of Monmouth).<ref name="auto4"/>{{efn|Coflein's entry for the battle site notes the traditional ascription to the hill but records that archaeological investigations have not uncovered evidence to support the claim.<ref name="auto4">{{Coflein|num=402327|desc=Craig-y-dorth, site of battle, near Monmouth|access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref>}} This was the high water mark of the revolt; heavy defeats in the county followed in 1405, at the [[Battle of Grosmont]], and at the [[Battle of Pwll Melyn]], traditionally located near [[Usk Castle]], where Glyndŵr's brother was killed and his eldest son captured. The chronicler [[Adam of Usk]], a contemporary observer, noted that "from this time onward, Owain's fortunes began to wane in that region."{{sfn|Thomas-Symonds|2004|p=14}}

===Monmouthshire 1535–1974===
{{Main|Monmouthshire (historic)}}

====Tudor reforms====
[[File:Monumetha Atlas.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Hand-drawn map of Monmouthshire by [[Christopher Saxton]] from 1577]]
The first [[House of Tudor|Tudor]] king, [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], was born at [[Pembroke Castle]] in the west of Wales, and spent some of his childhood in Monmouthshire, at [[Raglan Castle]] as a ward of [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1469)|William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cadw.gov.wales/more-about-raglan-castle|title=More about Raglan Castle|publisher=[[Cadw]]|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> His son and heir [[Henry VIII]] was to bring the rule of the [[Marcher lords]] to an end. The historic county of Monmouthshire was formed from the [[Welsh Marches]] by the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542|Laws in Wales Act 1535]]. The Laws in Wales Act 1542 enumerated the counties of Wales and omitted Monmouthshire, implying that the county was no longer to be treated as part of Wales. Though for all purposes Wales had become part of the [[Kingdom of England]], and the difference had little practical effect, it did begin a centuries-long dispute as to Monmouthshire's status as a ''Welsh'' or as an ''English'' county, a debate only finally brought to an end in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/wales/1991-02-01|title=Local Government Act 1972 |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>

The laws establishing the 13 counties (shires), the [[historic counties of Wales]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803110707792|title=Union, Act of (Wales)|website=Oxford Reference}}</ref> assigned four of the five new counties created from the Marcher Lordships along the Welsh/English border, [[Brecknockshire]], [[Denbighshire]], [[Montgomeryshire]] and [[Radnorshire]], to the legal system operated in Wales, administered by the [[Court of Great Sessions in Wales|Court of Great Sessions]]. Monmouthshire was assigned to the [[Oxford circuit]] of the [[Assize Court#England and Wales|English Assizes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C257|title=Legal Records Relating to Wales|publisher=[[National Archives]]|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> This began a legal separation which continued until 1972; for example, the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the boroughs of Newport, Abergavenny and Monmouth were explicitly listed as being in England rather than Wales in first schedule of the [[Local Government Act 1933]]. For several centuries, acts of the [[Parliament of England]] (in which Wales was represented) often referred to "Wales and Monmouthshire", such as the [[Welsh Church Act 1914]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/4-5/91/contents|title=Welsh Church Act 1914 |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>

====Civil war and religious strife====
Monmouthshire in the 1600s experienced to a high degree the political and religious convulsions arising from the [[English Reformation]] and culminating in the [[English Civil War]]. Following [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s religious reforms, the county had a reputation for [[recusancy]], with the strongly Catholic [[Duke of Beaufort|Marquesses of Worcester]] (later Dukes of Beaufort) at its apex, from their powerbase at [[Raglan Castle]].{{sfn|Jenkins|1986|p=562}} The outbreak of war saw the county predominantly [[Cavalier|Royalist]] in its sympathies; [[Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester]] expended a fortune in support of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and twice entertained him at Raglan. His generosity was unavailing; the castle fell after a siege in 1646; the marquess died in captivity and his [[Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester|son]] spent time in prison and in exile abroad.{{sfn|Tribe|2002|pp=4–6}}{{sfn|Kenyon|2003|p=19}} 

[[John Arnold of Monmouthshire|John Arnold]], [[Member of parliament (United Kingdom)|member of parliament]] for [[Monmouth Boroughs (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth Boroughs]] in the late 17th century, was a virulent opponent of Catholics and pursued a policy of harassment from the 1670s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/arnold-john-1635-1702|title=John Arnold (c.1635–1702) of Llanvihangel Crucorney|publisher=History of parliament online|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref> Monmouthshire’s only [[Duke|dukedom]] was created in 1663 for [[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth]], but became forfeit following Scott’s execution after the failed [[Monmouth Rebellion]] in 1685.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=2051|page=2|date=13 July 1685}}</ref> In the 18th and much of the 19th centuries county politics was dominated by the Beauforts and the [[Baron Tredegar|Morgans]], "an everlasting friendship between the houses of [[Raglan Castle|Raglan]] and [[Tredegar House|Tredegar]]",{{sfn|Jenkins|1986|p=568}} and by the end of the 19th century, these two families, along with the [[John Hanbury (1664–1734)|Hanburys]] of Pontypool, held between them over a fifth of the total land in the county.{{sfn|Jenkins|1986|p=574}}

====Industrialisation====
[[File:John Frost, (the chartist.) Found guilty of high treason at Monmouth and sentenced to death 16 Jany 1840 LCCN2003672983.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|[[John Frost (Chartist)|John Frost]] was sentenced to death at Monmouth after the failure of the [[Newport Rising]]]]
Industrialisation came early to Monmouthshire; the first [[brass]] in Britain was produced at a [[foundry]] at [[Tintern]] in 1568,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/explore/history-and-heritage/industrial-revolution|title=Industrial Revolution|publisher=Visit Dean Wye|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref> and the lower Wye Valley and the [[Forest of Dean]] became important centres for metalworking and mining. But the most dramatic impact was in the west of the county during the [[Industrial Revolution in Wales|Industrial Revolution]], in the [[South Wales Coalfield]], where some of the largest pits in Wales were dug, and a major [[Ironworks|iron industry]] developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hwb.gov.wales/api/storage/3e58cf1e-8a8f-4bf0-a902-b53e196f3d8e/Ironandcoal2.pdf|title=Iron and coal|publisher=[[Archives Wales]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> The societal transformation was accompanied by great inequality and unrest. [[Chartism in Wales|Chartism]] was firmly embedded in Wales, and in 1840 the Chartist leaders [[John Frost (Chartist)|John Frost]], [[Zephaniah Williams]] and [[William Jones (Chartist)|William Jones]] were tried for sedition and treason at the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth]], after a [[Newport Rising|failed insurrection at Newport]], which the writer [[Clive Aslet]] called "the first mass movement of the [[working class]]".{{sfn|Aslet|2005|p=428}} Their death sentences were subsequently commuted to [[transportation]] to Australia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chartist Trial 16th January 1840|url=http://www.newportpast.com/nfs/strands/frost/part2.htm|publisher=NewportPast|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref>

Industrialisation also drove improvements in transportation; in the 18th century, the poor state of Monmouthshire's roads approached a national scandal. During a debate in parliament on the establishment of a [[turnpike trust]] for the county, the local landowner [[Valentine Morris]] asserted that the inhabitants of the county travelled "in ditches".{{sfn|Weeks|2009|p=243}} By the mid-century, commercial demands saw the first timetabled [[stagecoach]] between London and Monmouth arrive in [[Agincourt Square]] on 4 November 1763, the journey having taken four days.{{sfn|Weeks|2009|p=245}} By the end of the century, the need for access to exploit the South Wales Coalfields saw the development of trams and canals.{{sfn|Weeks|2009|p=249}}

====Society, art and science====
Tourism became prominent in Monmouthshire at the end of the 18th century, when the [[French Revolution]] and the subsequent [[Napoleonic Wars]] precluded travel to [[Continental Europe]].{{sfn|Andrews|1989|p=86}} The focus of activity was the [[Wye Tour]], first popularised by the Rev. [[William Gilpin (priest)|William Gilpin]], in his ''Observations on the River Wye and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty'', published in 1782. Although his efforts were sometimes satirised, Gilpin established what became the conventional route down the "mazy course" of the [[River Wye]], with visitors embarking at [[Ross-on-Wye]], and sailing past [[Symonds Yat]], and Monmouth, before the highlight of the tour, [[Tintern Abbey]].{{sfn|Gilpin|1782|p=17}} Voyages concluded at Chepstow. The abbey at Tintern inspired artists and writers; [[J. M. W. Turner]] painted it;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-tintern-abbey-the-crossing-and-chancel-looking-towards-the-east-window-d00374|title='Tintern Abbey: The Crossing and Chancel, Looking towards the East Window', Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1794|website=Tate}}</ref> [[William Wordsworth]] committed it to verse;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45527/lines-composed-a-few-miles-above-tintern-abbey-on-revisiting-the-banks-of-the-wye-during-a-tour-july-13-1798|title=Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798 by William Wordsworth|first=Poetry|last=Foundation|date=13 May 2024|website=Poetry Foundation}}</ref> and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] almost died there.{{sfn|Cottle|1837|p=48}} Another object of interest to artists undertaking the Wye Tour was the [[Monnow Bridge]] at Monmouth.{{sfn|Mitchell|2010|p=106}} A late 18th-century watercolour by [[Michael Angelo Rooker]] is now in the [[Monmouth Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.artfund.org/supporting-museums/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/5435/monnow-bridge-and-gate-monmouth-michael-angelo-rooker|title=Monnow Bridge and Gate, Monmouth by Michael Angelo Rooker|publisher=Art Fund|date=28 January 2017|access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> The noted architectural watercolourist [[Samuel Prout]] painted the bridge in a study dated "before 1814", now held at the [[Yale Center for British Art]] in Connecticut.<ref>{{cite web|author=Yale Center for British Art, Lec Maj|url=http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3657378|title=The Monnow Bridge, Monmouthshire|publisher=Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref> In 1795, [[J. M. W. Turner]] sketched the bridge and gatehouse during one of his annual summer sketching tours.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-monnow-bridge-monmouth-r1140942|title=Joseph Mallord William Turner, 'The Monnow Bridge, Monmouth' 1795 (J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours)|chapter=The Monnow Bridge, Monmouth 1795 by Joseph Mallord William Turner |publisher=Tate|date=3 February 2015|isbn=978-1-84976-386-8 |access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref>

[[Alfred Russel Wallace]], a [[naturalist]] whose independent work on [[natural selection]] saw [[Charles Darwin]] bring forward the publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', was born at [[Llanbadoc]], outside [[Usk]], in 1823. He is commemorated in a statue raised in the town's Twyn Square in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abergavennychronicle.com/news/comedian-to-unveil-bronze-bust-of-famous-son-wallace-75960 |first=Nick |last=Hartland |title=Comedian to unveil bust of famous son Wallace | newspaper=[[Abergavenny Chronicle]] |date=6 November 2021 |access-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811063826/https://www.abergavennychronicle.com/news/comedian-to-unveil-bronze-bust-of-famous-son-wallace-75960 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bertrand Russell]], the philosopher and the only [[Nobel laureate]] from the county, was born at [[Cleddon Hall]], outside [[Trellech]] in 1872.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/nobel-winner-bertrand-russells-welsh-2027377|title=Nobel winner Bertrand Russell's Welsh birthplace on sale for £2m|first=Graham|last=Henry|work=[[Wales Online]]|date=12 July 2012|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> [[Charles Rolls]] grew up at his family seat, [[The Hendre]], just north of Monmouth and, in partnership with [[Henry Royce]], co-founded [[Rolls-Royce Limited]]. An aviation pioneer, as well as an automobile innovator, he died in a plane crash in 1910,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rolls-royceandbentley.co.uk/charles-rolls-the-life-of-the-motoring-and-aviation-pioneer.html|title=Charles Rolls – The Life of the Motoring and Aviation Pioneer|publisher=[[Rolls-Royce Motors]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> and is commemorated by a [[Statue of Charles Rolls, Monmouth|statue]] in Agincourt Square in Monmouth.<ref>{{Cadw|num=2229|desc=Statue of C S Rolls|grade=II*|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>

====War====
[[File:HMS Monmouth.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMS|Monmouth|1901|6}}, November 1914]]
The [[Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers]] was founded in 1539, making it the second-oldest regiment in the [[British Army]]. Originally a county militia, it was amalgamated into the [[Royal Engineers]] in 1877. It is based at [[Monmouth Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monmouthcastlemuseum.org.uk/historymenu/origins/index.html|title=The Origins of the Regiment|publisher=Regimental Museum|access-date=25 July 2024}}</ref> [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Fitzroy Somerset]], a younger son of the [[Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort|5th Duke of Beaufort]], enjoyed a long military career, serving on the staff of the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] at the [[Battle of Waterloo]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=17028|page=1216|date=22 June 1815}}</ref> and as commander-in-chief of the British forces during the [[Crimean War]].{{sfn|Bradney|1992|pp=41–42}} Created [[Baron Raglan]] in 1852, he died in 1855. His son was gifted [[Cefntilla Court]], near [[Llandenny]] in his memory.{{sfn|Newman|2000|pp=272–273}} [[William Allen (VC 1879)|William Wilson Allen]], who fought with the [[South Wales Borderers]] at the [[Battle of Rorke's Drift]] in 1879, is buried in [[Monmouth Cemetery]], the only grave in the county of a holder of the [[Victoria Cross]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/cowalmon.htm|title=Victoria Cross burials in Monemouthshire|publisher=Victoria Cross Society|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshirebeacon.co.uk/news/war-hero-remembered-in-special-service-at-monmouth-cemetery-294259|title=War hero remembered in special service at Monmouth Cemetery|date=11 July 2018|publisher=[[Monmouthshire Beacon]]|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref>{{efn|[[Angus Buchanan (VC)]], who was born and died at [[Coleford, Gloucestershire]], served as head boy of [[Monmouth School for Boys|Monmouth School]] and unveiled the school's war memorial in 1921. He is commemorated in the school's Buchanan House.{{sfn|Kissack|1995|pp=106–108}} [[William Charles Williams]], born out of the county but raised in Chepstow, was posthumously awarded a [[Victoria Cross]] for bravery in the [[Gallipoli campaign]] in World War I. He is commemorated at the [[Chepstow War Memorial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vconline.org.uk/william-c-williams-vc/4588549154|title=William Charles Williams VC|publisher=The Victoria Cross Online|accessdate=19 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallipoli-association.org/news/2016/april/chepstow-and-able-seaman-williams-vc/|title=Chepstow and Able Seaman Williams VC|publisher=The Gallipoli Association|accessdate=19 February 2021}}</ref>}} The [[Monmouthshire Regiment]] was established in 1907. Men from the regiment fought in both the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]]s, until its disbandment in 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.monmouthcastlemuseum.org.uk/historymenu/worldwars/index.html|title=World Wars|publisher=Castle and Regimental Museum, Monmouth|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> {{HMS|Monmouth|1901|6}} was sunk at the [[Battle of Coronel]] in November 1914, with the loss of all 734 crew.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Coronel |url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW1Battle-Battle_of_Coronel_1914.htm |website=World War 1 at Sea - Naval Battles in outline with Casualties|publisher=naval-history.net |access-date=16 May 2024|date=16 June 2023}}</ref>

===Gwent 1974–1996===
{{main|Gwent (county)}}

The [[Local Government Act 1972]], which came into effect in April 1974, created the county of Gwent, confirmed it as part of Wales, and abolished the  historic [[administrative county]] of Monmouthshire and its associated [[Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire|lieutenancy]]. It also subsumed [[Newport County Borough Council]], creating a two-tier system of local government across the county. The entire county was administered by [[Gwent County Council]], based at [[County Hall, Cwmbran]], with five [[History of local government in Wales|district council]]s below it: [[Blaenau Gwent]], [[Islwyn]], [[District of Monmouth|Monmouth]], [[District of Newport|Newport]] and [[Torfaen]].<ref name="1974 New Wales">{{cite news|title=The Counties and Districts – Gwent |work=[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]] |place=Wales |type="The New Wales" supplement |page=8 |date=22 March 1974 }}</ref> The largest five towns in the new county were [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], [[Cwmbran]], [[Pontypool]], [[Ebbw Vale]] and [[Abergavenny]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://county-wise.org.uk/counties/monmouthshire/|title=Monmouthshire|website=County-Wise|date=26 June 2013 |access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref> In the [[1979 Welsh devolution referendum]] Gwent voted heavily against the proposal for a Welsh Assembly with limited powers, with a "No Vote" of 87.9 per cent, with the national "No Vote" standing at 79.7 per cent.{{sfn|Griffiths|Williams|Croll|2013|p=353}}

===Late 20th and 21st centuries===
The [[Local Government (Wales) Act 1994]] created the present [[Local government in Wales|local government]] structure in [[Wales]] of 22 [[unitary authorities#Wales|unitary authority areas]], the [[principal area]]s, and abolished the previous two-tier structure of [[preserved counties of Wales|counties]] and [[districts of Wales|districts]]. It came into effect on 1 April 1996. It brought to an end the 22-year existence of Gwent, and re-created the county of Monmouthshire, although only with the eastern three-fifths of its historic area, and with a substantially reduced population. The western two-fifths of the county were included in other principal areas: [[Caerphilly County Borough]], part of which came from Mid Glamorgan, including the towns of [[Newbridge, Caerphilly|Newbridge]], [[Blackwood, Caerphilly|Blackwood]], [[New Tredegar]] and [[Rhymney]]; [[Blaenau Gwent|Blaenau Gwent County Borough]], including [[Abertillery]], [[Brynmawr]], [[Ebbw Vale]] and [[Tredegar]]; Torfaen, including [[Blaenavon]], [[Abersychan]], [[Pontypool]], and [[Cwmbran]]; and the [[Newport, Wales|City of Newport]], including [[Caerleon]] as it had since 1974. The new Monmouthshire, covering the less populated eastern 60% of the historic county, included the towns of [[Abergavenny]], [[Caldicot, Monmouthshire|Caldicot]], [[Chepstow]], [[Monmouth]] and [[Usk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/contents|title=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)]]|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the [[Gwent County History]], Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".{{sfn|McCloy|2013|p=126}}

The title of Gwent continues as a [[Preserved counties of Wales|preserved county]], one of eight such counties in Wales, which have mainly ceremonial functions such as the [[Lord Lieutenant of Gwent|lord lieutenancy]] and [[High Sheriff of Gwent|high shrievality]]. In 2024 the lord lieutenant is Brigadier Robert Aitken, appointed in 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lordlieutenantofgwent.co.uk/|title=Home – Lord Lieutenant of Gwent|date=1 May 2018}}</ref> and the high sheriff is Professor Simon J. Gibson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://highsheriffofgwent.co.uk/meet-the-team/#simon|title=Meet the Team|publisher=Office of the High Sheriff of Gwent|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>  The preserved county is also retained for a limited number of public service bodies which operate across principal areas, for example [[Gwent Police]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gwent.police.uk/police-forces/gwent-police/areas/about-us/about-us/|title=About us|publisher=[[Gwent Police]]|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> In the [[1997 Welsh devolution referendum]] for the establishment of a [[Deliberative assembly|National Assembly]] for Wales, which resulted in a narrow "Yes" vote, 50.30 per cent in favour v. 49.70 per cent against, Monmouthshire recorded the highest "No" vote of any principal area, its population voting 67.9 per cent against to 32.1 per cent in favour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/live/monmouth.shtml|title=Welsh devolution referendum – Monmouthshire results|publisher=[[BBC Wales]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Location map+|Wales Monmouthshire
| width          = 300
| float          = left
| border         =
| caption        = Labelled relief map of the county 
| alt            = Relief map of Monmouthshire with major settlements and rivers
| relief         = yes
| AlternativeMap =
| overlay_image  =
| places         =
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.824 |long=-3.0167 |label_size=75 |label=[[Abergavenny]] |mark=Red pog.svg |position=right}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.81 |long=-2.72 |label_size=75 |label=[[Monmouth]] |mark=Red pog.svg |position=top}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.642 |long=-2.675 |label_size=75 |label=[[Chepstow]] |mark=Red pog.svg |position=top}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.704 |long=-2.902 |label_size=75 |label=[[Usk]] |mark=Red pog.svg |position=top}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.696 |long=-2.68142 |label_size=75 |label=[[River Wye]] |mark=Blue pog.svg |position=left}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.7751 |long=-2.946 |label_size=75 |label=[[River Usk]] |mark=Blue pog.svg |position=left}}
{{location map~ |Wales Monmouthshire |lat=51.591 |long=-2.7492  |label_size=75 |label=[[Caldicot]] |mark=Red pog.svg |position=right}}
}}
Monmouthshire is broadly rectangular in shape, and borders the county of [[Powys]] to the north and the county boroughs of [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], Torfaen and [[Blaenau Gwent]] to the west, with its southern border on the [[Severn Estuary]] giving the county its only coastline. To the east, it borders the English counties of [[Herefordshire]] and [[Gloucestershire]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Monmouthshire|title=Monmouthshire, Wales, Map, History, & Facts|publisher=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]|website=www.britannica.com|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> The centre of the county is the plain of Gwent, formed from the basin of the [[River Usk]], while the [[River Wye]] forms part of its eastern border, running through the [[Wye Valley]], one of the five [[Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales]] and the only one in the county.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wyevalleyaonb.org.uk/images/uploads/general/section1.pdf|title = Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – Management Plan 2004–2009 | publisher = Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty |access-date = 7 March 2024}}</ref> 

The north and west of the county is mountainous, particularly the western area adjoining the industrial [[South Wales Valleys]] and the [[Black Mountains, United Kingdom|Black Mountains]] which form part of the [[Brecon Beacons National Park]]. Two major river valleys dominate the lowlands: the scenic gorge of the Wye Valley along the border with Gloucestershire adjoining the [[Forest of Dean]], and the valley of the River Usk between Abergavenny and Newport. Both rivers flow south to the [[Severn Estuary]]. The [[River Monnow]] is a tributary of the River Wye and forms part of the border with Herefordshire and England, passing through the town of Monmouth. The highest point of the county is [[Chwarel y Fan]] in the Black Mountains, with a height of {{convert|679|m|ft}}. The [[Sugar Loaf, Monmouthshire|Sugar Loaf]] (Welsh: ''Mynydd Pen-y-fâl or Y Fâl''), located {{convert|3|km|mi|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} northwest of Abergavenny, offers far-reaching views; although its height is only {{convert|596|m|ft}}, its isolation and distinctive peak shape make it a prominent landmark.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.breconbeacons.org/blog/the-sugar-loaf-walk-abergavenny|title=The Sugar Loaf walk, Abergavenny|date=26 March 2022 |publisher=[[Brecon Beacons National Park]]|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

[[Wentwood]], now partly in Monmouthshire and partly in [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], is the remnant of a once much larger forest, but remains the largest [[ancient woodland]] in Wales and the ninth largest in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/QGC-70-Ancient-Woodlands-List.pdf|title=70 ancient woodlands|publisher=[[The Queen's Green Canopy]]|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> Originally a {{convert|3000|ha|acre|-2}} woodland, it formed the hunting ground for Chepstow Castle, and gave its name to a traditional north-south, division of the county between the ''cantrefi'' (hundreds) of ''Gwent Uwchcoed'' (above the wood) and ''Gwent Iscoed'' (below the wood).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095913626|title=Gwent|website=Oxford Reference|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

===Geology===
[[File:Modern Mons bedrock geology.jpg|thumb|right]]
{{main|Geology of Monmouthshire}}

The centre of the principal area is dominated by the [[Usk Inlier]], a large outcrop of [[Silurian]] rock. The [[inlier]] is surrounded by younger, [[Devonian]], rock, including areas of [[Old Red Sandstone]] which forms a very common building material in the county.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cdn.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/media/682611/nlca31-central-monmouthshire-description.pdf|title=Central Monmouthshire|publisher=[[Natural Resources Wales]]|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref> The [[Wye Valley|Wye Gorge]], in the extreme east of the county, has a bed of [[Carboniferous Limestone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthheritagetrust.org/the-wye-gorge/|title=The Wye Gorge|publisher=Earth Heritage Trust|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

===Coastline and landscape===
{{main|Caldicot and Wentloog Levels}}

Monmouth's coastline forms its southern border, running the length of the [[Severn Estuary]] from Chepstow in the east to the shore south of [[Magor, Monmouthshire|Magor]] in the west. The distance, roughly {{convert|15|mi}}, can be walked via the [[Wales Coast Path]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/walking/wales-coast-path|title=Wales Coast Path|website=Visit Monmouthshire}}</ref> The coastline includes the eastern part of the [[Caldicot and Wentloog Levels]], also known as the Monmouthshire or Gwent Levels, an almost entirely man-made environment that has seen [[land reclamation]] since [[Wales in the Roman era|Roman times]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ggat.org.uk/cms/|title=Glamorgan Gwent Archaeology is part of Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology|accessdate=26 July 2024}}</ref> The coastal area is low-lying with few cliffs, making it historically vulnerable to flooding.{{sfn|Evans|1953|p=9}} An extreme example were the [[1607 Bristol Channel floods]] which saw some 2,000 people drowned, with many victims located on Monmouthshire's coastline.{{sfn|Evans|1953|p=129}}<ref name="2014bbc">{{cite news |author=BBC staff |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2007/01/30/somerset_flood_1607_anniversary_feature.shtml |title=The great flood of 1607: could it happen again? |access-date=3 January 2025|work=BBC Somerset}}</ref>

[[Denny Island]], a {{convert|0.24|ha|acre|1}} outcrop of rock in the [[Severn Estuary]], the southern foreshore of which is the boundary between England and Wales, is Monmouthshire's only offshore island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/gwentwildlife/docs/wag_winter_2022_issuu|title=Autumn/Winter Wild About Gwent 2022|publisher=Gwent Wildlife Trust|date=3 November 2022|website=issuu.com}}</ref>

===Biodiversity===
{{main|List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Monmouthshire}}

The battle to save [[Magor Marsh]], the last remaining area of natural [[Fen|fenland]] on the [[Gwent Levels]], led to the foundation of the [[Gwent Wildlife Trust]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gwentwildlife.org/nature-reserves/magor-marsh|title=Magor Marsh|publisher=Gwent Wildlife Trust|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> The county contains a range of nature reserves and areas of special scientific interest, including [[Graig Wood]] {{convert|14.3|ha|acre|adj=on}} SSSI, [[Pentwyn Farm Grasslands]] {{convert|7.6|ha|acre|adj=on}} SSSI and [[Lady Park Wood National Nature Reserve]] ({{convert|45.0|ha|acre|adj=on}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/attractions/nature-reserves|title=Nature Reserves|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> [[Llandegfedd Reservoir]], developed in the 1960s to provide a water supply to [[Cardiff]], is an SSSI providing [[overwintering]] for [[Anatidae|wildfowl]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://llandegfedd.co.uk/about-us/|title=Llandegfedd Lake|publisher=[[Welsh Water]]|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> The [[Wye Valley]], the county's only [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty|National Landscape]], has its largest population of [[deer]] and the UK's largest population of [[lesser horseshoe bat]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wyevalley-nl.org.uk/exploring-wye-valley-aonb/wildlife/|title=Wildlife – Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty|publisher=Wye Valley AONB|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> The Wye itself was once one of the country's major centres of [[salmon]] fishing, but this has suffered very rapid decline in the 21st century due to [[Water pollution|river pollution]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wyevalley-nl.org.uk/exploring-wye-valley-aonb/wildlife/river-wildlife/fish/|title=Fish – Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty|publisher=Wye Valley AONB|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>{{efn|The pollution of the [[River Wye]] is primarily attributed to the large-scale [[Battery cage|battery farming]] of poultry, with an estimated 23 million birds being bred in the river catchment area in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c06l7e0edx2o|title=River Wye pollution leads chicken firm Avara to be sued|publisher=[[BBC Wales]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/07/environment-agency-failed-protect-river-wye-pollution-chicken-waste-court|title=Environment Agency failed to protect River Wye from chicken waste, court hears|first=Sandra|last=Laville|date=7 February 2024|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>}}

===Climate===
{{weather box|width=auto
| location = Monmouthshire
| single line = y
| metric first = y
| Jan high C = 8.4
| Feb high C = 8.9
| Mar high C = 11.40         
| Apr high C = 14.5
| May high C = 17.9
| Jun high C = 20.5
| Jul high C = 22.5
| Aug high C = 22.1
| Sep high C = 19.5
| Oct high C = 15.2
| Nov high C = 11.5
| Dec high C = 8.7
| year high C = 15.16

| Jan low C = 1.72
| Feb low C = 1.7
| Mar low C = 2.7
| Apr low C = 4.1
| May low C = 7.0
| Jun low C = 9.8
| Jul low C = 11.5
| Aug low C = 11.2
| Sep low C = 9.1
| Oct low C = 6.7
| Nov low C = 4.0
| Dec low C = 2.0
| year low C = 6.0

| Jan sun = 51.3          
| Feb sun = 75.0
| Mar sun = 110.6
| Apr sun = 158.1
| May sun = 187.1
| Jun sun = 176.7
| Jul sun = 185.3
| Aug sun = 178.9 
| Sep sun = 133.3 
| Oct sun = 95.4
| Nov sun = 59.3
| Dec sun = 47.0
| year sun = 1458.4

| Jan rain mm = 127.3 
| Feb rain mm = 93.9
| Mar rain mm = 74.8
| Apr rain mm = 67.6
| May rain mm = 73.9
| Jun rain mm = 69.1
| Jul rain mm = 66.2
| Aug rain mm = 82.8
| Sep rain mm = 75.8
| Oct rain mm = 125.6
| Nov rain mm = 120.9
| Dec rain mm = 132.2
| year rain mm = 1110.7

| unit rain days = 1&nbsp;mm
| Jan rain days =  14.5
| Feb rain days =  11.5
| Mar rain days =  11.3
| Apr rain days =  10.6
| May rain days = 10.3
| Jun rain days = 9.2
| Jul rain days = 9.0
| Aug rain days = 10.1
| Sep rain days = 9.7
| Oct rain days = 13.1
| Nov rain days = 14.2
| Dec rain days = 13.9
| year rain days = 137.9

| source 1 = 1991–2020 averages for [[Usk]] climate station. Sources: [[Met Office]]<ref name="annualmean">{{cite web |year=2021 |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcjyjuwdv |title=Station: Usk, Monmouthshire |publisher=[[Met Office|Meteorological (Met) Office]] |access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref>
}}

==Governance, politics and public services==
{{main|Monmouthshire County Council}}

===Local governance===
[[File:Official portrait of David T. C. Davies crop 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|[[David T. C. Davies]], [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth]] 2005–2024, was the county's only member of parliament to serve as [[Secretary of State for Wales]]]]
The current [[subdivisions of Wales#Principal areas|unitary authority]] of Monmouthshire was created on 1&nbsp;April 1996 as a successor to the [[district of Monmouth]] along with the [[Llanelly]] community from Blaenau Gwent, both of which were [[Districts of Wales|district]]s of Gwent. It is a [[Principal areas of Wales|principal area]] of Wales.{{efn|The use of the name "Monmouthshire" rather than "Monmouth" for the area aroused some controversy; it was supported by the member of parliament (MP) for [[Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth]], [[Roger Kenneth Evans|Roger Evans]], but opposed by [[Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen|Paul Murphy]], MP for [[Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency)|Torfaen]] (inside the historic county of Monmouthshire but being reconstituted as a separate unitary authority).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-03-15/Debate-4.html |title=Hansard, House of Commons, March 15, 1994, Column 782 |publisher=Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk |access-date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210053125/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-03-15/Debate-4.html |archive-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} Monmouthshire is styled as a county, and includes: the former boroughs of Abergavenny and Monmouth; the former urban districts of [[Chepstow]] and Usk; the former rural districts of Abergavenny, Chepstow and Monmouth; the former rural district of [[Pontypool]], except the community of [[Llanfrechfa Lower]]; and the parish of [[Llanelly]] from the former [[Crickhowell]] Rural District in Brecknockshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/2014-12-12|title=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Schedule 1|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> 

The county is administered by [[Monmouthshire County Council]], with its head office at Rhadyr, outside [[Usk]], opened in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=225 |title=Monmouthshire County Council press release, "This council is coming home", 12&nbsp;January 2010 |publisher=Monmouthshire.gov.uk |date=12 January 2010 |access-date=21 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229230451/http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=225 |archive-date=29 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.willmottdixon.co.uk/news/monmouthshire-move-into-new-hq|title=Monmouthshire move into new HQ|website=Willmott Dixon|date=21 May 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-22111508|title='Agile working' office savings aim|first=Clare|last=Gabriel|work=BBC News |date=18 April 2013|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> In the [[2022 Monmouthshire County Council election]], no party gained overall control, with the [[Welsh Labour]] party forming a minority administration, its 22 councillors allying with five [[Independent politician|Independents]] and one [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] councillor. The council leader is Mary Ann Brocklesby.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://democracy.monmouthshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1|title=Your councillors|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

===National representation===
Monmouthshire elects one [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member]] to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|the UK parliament at Westminster]], until 2024 representing the [[Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth constituency]]. Under the [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies]], a new constituency, [[Monmouthshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouthshire]], came into effect at the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], comprising 88.9% of the previous constituency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.shinyapps.io/new_constituencies_insight/|title=Boundary Review 2023 – which seats will change|publisher=House of Commons Library|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> The seat was won by the [[Labour Party (United Kingdom)|Labour Party]] candidate [[Catherine Fookes]]<ref>{{cite news|first=Twm |last=Owen |url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/24432546.general-election-2024-labour-win-monmouthshire/ |title=General election 2024: Labour win in Monmouthshire |work=[[South Wales Argus]] |date=5 July 2024 |access-date=25 July 2024}}</ref> who defeated the incumbent, [[David T. C. Davies]], a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician who had held the previous seat since 2005 and who served as the [[Secretary of State for Wales]] in the prior government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/david-tc-davies|title=The Rt Hon David TC Davies MP|publisher=UK Government|access-date=10 September 2023}}</ref> 

Monmouthshire directly elects two members to the [[Senedd]], the Welsh parliament. The [[Monmouth (Senedd constituency)|Monmouth]] constituency covers most of the county and since May 2021 the directly elected member is [[Peter Fox (Welsh politician)|Peter Fox]],<ref name="Senedd 2021 result">{{cite news|author1=Ruth Mosalski |author2=Sian Burkitt |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/senedd-election-2021-monmouth-candidates-20530997 |title=Monmouth Conservative candidate for Senedd Election Peter Fox |work=Wales Online |date=7 May 2021 |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref> a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician who previously served as the chair of Monmouthshire County Council.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freepressseries.co.uk/news/19303187.monmouthshire-emotional-peter-fox-closes-huge-chapter-life-stands-council-leader/|title=Emotional Peter Fox closes "huge chapter" in his life as he stands down as council leader|work=Free Press Series|date=14 May 2021 |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref> The western edge of the county, bordering Newport and including the settlements of [[Magor, Monmouthshire|Magor]], [[Undy]], [[Rogiet]] and [[Caldicot]], forms part of the [[Newport East (Senedd constituency)|Newport East]] constituency which has [[John Griffiths (Welsh politician)|John Griffiths]] of [[Welsh Labour|Labour]] as its member.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 July 2024|title=Your MPs |url=https://democracy.monmouthshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndexMP.aspx?bcr=1 |publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref>

Monmouth is also one of eight constituencies in the [[South Wales East (Senedd electoral region)|South Wales East]] [[Senedd constituencies and electoral regions|electoral region]], which elects four [[additional member system|additional members]], under a partial proportional representation system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://senedd.wales/glossary/?letter=R&term=1826|title=Glossary of terms – Region|publisher=[[Senedd Cymru]]|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

===Public services===
Fire and rescue services are provided by [[South Wales Fire and Rescue Service]], which has fire stations in the county at Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/|title=Home|publisher=South Wales Fire and Rescue Service|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Policing services are provided by [[Gwent Police]], whose officers cover Monmouthshire, as well as [[Blaenau Gwent]], [[Caerphilly County Borough|Caerphilly]], [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] and Torfaen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gwent.police.uk/area/your-area/gwent/monmouthshire/|title=Monmouthshire|publisher=Gwent Police|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Civilian oversight is provided by the [[Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gwent.pcc.police.uk/en/about-us/police-and-crime-commissioner/|title=Your Police and Crime Commissioner|date=3 August 2020|publisher=Office of the Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Monmouthshire's prisons are [[HM Prison Prescoed]], a [[Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom|Category D open prison]] at [[Coed-y-paen]] and [[HM Prison Usk]], a Category C prison, both in the west of the county.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/media/press-releases/2021/10/usk-and-prescoed-continuing-high-standards-at-two-welsh-prisons/|title=Usk and Prescoed - continuing high standards at two Welsh prisons|publisher=[[His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons]]|date=30 September 2021|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

==Demography==
[[File:Welsh speakers in the 2011 census.png|right|thumb|alt=Graphic showing the proportion of Welsh speakers throughout Wales in 2011|Proportion of Welsh speakers (Wales 2011 census)]]

===Population===
Monmouthshire's population was 93,000 at the 2021 census, increasing marginally from 91,300 at the 2011 census.  54,100 (58.2 per cent) of residents were born in Wales, while 32,300 (34.7 per cent) were born in England.<ref name="Census2021">{{Cite web |title=How life has changed in Monmouthshire: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/W06000021/ |access-date=5 March 2024 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref> Just over 20 per cent of the county's population is over the age of 65. It remains one of the least densely populated of Wales's [[principal area]]s.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/information/events-management/facts-about-monmouthshire|title=Facts about Monmouthshire|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

===Language, ethnicity and identity===
The 2021 census recorded that [[Welsh language|Welsh]] is spoken by 8.7 per cent of the population of the county, a decrease from 9.9 per cent in 2011. The number of non-Welsh speakers increased by 3,000 over the decade.<ref name="Census2021" /> In 2021, 96.9 per cent of Monmouthshire residents identified as "white European", marginally lower than in 2011, compared with 98 per cent for the whole of Wales.<ref name="Census2021" /> 41.9 per cent of the population identified as "Welsh", down from 44.0% in 2011. The percentage of residents in Monmouthshire that identified as "British only" increased from 23.5% to 27.0%.<ref name="Census2021" />

===Religion===
In the 2021 census 43.4 per cent of Monmouthshire residents reported having "No religion", an increase of nearly 15 per cent from the 28.5 per cent in the 2011 census. 48.7 per cent described themselves as "Christian" with the remainder reporting themselves as Buddhist (0.4 percent); Hindu	(0.2 per cent); Jewish (0.1 per cent); Muslim (0.5 per cent); Sikh (0.1 per cent) or Other (0.6 per cent).<ref name="Census2021" /> The [[Diocese of Monmouth]], within the [[Church in Wales]], serves the area covered by the historic county, and its [[Bishop of Monmouth|bishop]], from 2019 [[Cherry Vann]], is based at Newport.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://monmouth.churchinwales.org.uk/en/about-us/bishop/|title=Bishop of Monmouth|publisher=[[Church in Wales]]|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>{{efn|[[Rowan Williams]] served as [[Bishop of Monmouth]] from 1991-2002 before elevation to the [[Archbishop of Wales|Archbishopric of Wales]] and then of [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Canterbury]].<ref name="auto"/>}}

==Economy==
===Employment===
[[File:Sheep Shearing.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sheep shearing]] at the [[Monmouthshire Show]]: agriculture remains an important employer in the county]]
Monmouthshire is now primarily a [[service economy]], with professional, scientific and technical businesses, financial services, IT and business administration, retail, hospitality and arts and entertainment businesses accounting for just over 50 per cent of the total number of enterprises in the county. Firms are generally small, with 91 per cent of businesses employing fewer than 10 people.<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/app/uploads/2021/07/The-Baseline-Characteristics-of-Monmouthshire-June-2021.pdf|title=The Baseline Characteristics of Monmouthshire June 2021|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> It is a relatively prosperous county in comparison with the average in Wales; 80.0 per cent of people of working age are in employment compared with the Welsh average of 72.8 per cent; just under 3,000 people were in receipt of the main unemployment benefit, a substantially lower number than in all of the adjoining principal areas; average annual earnings in 2020 were just over £41,000 compared to just over £32,000 in Wales as a whole. Total [[income tax]] payments from the county in 2013 were second only to the City of Cardiff, and the average individual payment exceeded that paid in the capital city.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/richest-welsh-areas-monmouthshire-cardiff-3877085|first=Claire|last=Miller|title=The Welsh wealth map: Biggest income tax payers live in Monmouthshire, Cardiff and the Vale|work=[[Wales Online]]|date=21 May 2013|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> Agriculture continues to be an important employer, accounting for 15.3 per cent of businesses, the second largest single sector after professional, scientific and technical enterprises. The [[Monmouthshire Show]], an annual [[agricultural show]], is one of the largest such events in Wales and has operated since 1790.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thevoicemagazines.co.uk/events/monmouthshire-show/|title=Monmouthshire Show|work=Voice Magazines|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The third largest individual employment sector is construction.<ref name="auto3"/>

===Transport===
====Road====
[[File:New severn bridge best 750pix.jpg|thumb|left|[[Second Severn Crossing]] – opened in 1996 and now the Prince of Wales Bridge]]
The only [[Controlled-access highway|motorways]] are in the south of the county: the [[M4 motorway|M4]] which connects Wales with England via the [[Prince of Wales Bridge]] with its Welsh end near [[Sudbrook, Monmouthshire|Sudbrook]]; and the [[M48 motorway|M48]], originally part of the M4,<ref>{{Coflein|num=417517|desc=M4 Motorway, M48 Motorway, South Wales|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> which links Wales with England via the [[Severn Bridge]] at Chepstow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://traffic.wales/our-roads|title=Our roads|publisher=Traffic Wales|access-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> In the east of the county, the [[A449 road|A449]] and the [[A40 road|A40]] link with the [[M50 motorway (Great Britain)|M50]] near [[Goodrich, Herefordshire]], connecting Monmouthshire and South Wales with the [[English Midlands]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m50|title=M50, A40 and A449 &#124; Roads.org.uk|date=28 November 1960|website=www.roads.org.uk}}</ref> The conversion of the [[A465 road]] from Abergavenny to [[Dowlais]] into a [[dual carriageway]] was completed in the mid-2020s, after being proposed in the 1990s. Despite major cost overruns,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wao.gov.uk/news/major-road-project-drawing-close-after-difficult-ten-years|title=Major road project drawing to a close after a difficult ten years|publisher=[[Audit Wales]]|date=13 June 2024|access-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> it is considered to have brought benefits to the area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/24383122.a465-heads-valleys-road-upgrade-end-decade/|first=Sallie|last=Phillips|title=A465 Heads of the Valleys road upgrade to end after decade|work=[[South Wales Argus]]|date=13 June 2023|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> The [[Department for Transport]] recorded traffic in Monmouthshire at 0.9 billion [[Units of measurement in transportation#Traffic flow|vehicle miles]] in 2022. This represented a lower level of road usage than in 2016.<ref name="auto2"/>{{efn|The [[Department for Transport]] notes that the decline in road traffic usage between 2016 and 2022 was almost entirely due to the dramatic fall in usage due to movement restrictions during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]].<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/local-authorities/13|title=Road traffic statistics – Local authority: Monmouthshire|publisher=[[Department for Transport]]|access-date=31 December 2024}}</ref>}}

====Rail====
Monmouthshire is served by four railway stations: in the south are the [[Severn Tunnel Junction railway station]] at [[Rogiet]] on the [[South Wales Main Line]], which connects South Wales to London; and [[Chepstow railway station]] and [[Caldicot railway station]] on the [[Gloucester–Newport line]]; and in the north, [[Abergavenny railway station]] on the [[Welsh Marches line]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/home/streets-parking-and-transport/transport-and-travel/train-routes/|title=Transport and travel – Rail|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|date=23 November 2021|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref>

====Bus services====
The county's main centres of population are served by a bus network, connecting Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow, Raglan and Usk, with stopping points at smaller settlements on route.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/buses-trains/bus-timetables-2/|title=Bus Timetables|date=6 November 2023|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> National coach services have stopping points at Monmouth and Chepstow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/home/streets-parking-and-transport/transport-and-travel/|title=Transport and travel|date=6 March 2018|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://routemap.nationalexpress.com/nearest/monmouth_trefynwy|title=Coach Routes Map & Stops Finder |publisher=[[National Express Coaches]]|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref>

====Waterways====
[[File:Tintern Abbey and Courtyard.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tintern Abbey]], the highlight of the [[Wye Tour]]]]
In its industrial heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, the eastern periphery of the [[South Wales Coalfield]] was served by the [[Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal]] which connected the coalfield with the port at [[Newport, Wales|Newport]]. Today, the canal is a popular route for leisure cruising but most of its length lies within the principal areas of Torfaen, [[Blaenau Gwent]] and Newport.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers/monmouthshire-and-brecon-canal|title=Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal|publisher=Canal and River Trust|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> The Monmouthshire villages of [[Gilwern]], [[Govilon]] and [[Goetre]], on the western extremity of the county, remain adjacent to the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.breconbeacons.org/things-to-do/attractions/natural/monmouthshire-brecon-canal|title=Monmouthshire-Brecon Canal|publisher=[[Brecon Beacons National Park]]|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref>

===Tourism===
Tourism remains an important element of the county's economy. It generated just under £245 million in income in 2019, from 2.28 million visitors. The sector also provides employment for over 3,000 inhabitants of the county,<ref name="auto3"/> approximately 10 per cent of the total working population.<ref name="auto5"/>

==Education and health==
{{See also|List of schools in Monmouthshire}}
===Higher, further, secondary, primary and special education===
[[File:Eastern side of King Henry VIII School, Abergavenny - geograph.org.uk - 2745528.jpg|thumb|right|[[King Henry VIII School, Abergavenny]]]]
The county has neither a university nor any satellite campus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uk-universities.net/Universities/Wales-Monmouthshire.html|title=Universities in Monmouthshire, Wales|publisher=UK Universities.net|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref>{{efn|The closest university to Monmouthshire is the [[University of South Wales#Newport|campus]] of the [[University of South Wales]] at [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southwales.ac.uk/about/location/welcome-to-newport-campus/|title=Welcome to Newport Campus|publisher=[[University of South Wales]]|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref>}} The former [[University of Wales, Newport]] operated a [[Caerleon campus|campus]] at [[University of South Wales#Former campuses|Caerleon]] which closed in 2016, following the 2013 merger which created the [[University of South Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/10305191.University_of_Wales__Newport_to_be_dissolved_in_April/ |title=University of Wales, Newport to be dissolved in April 2013|publisher=[[South Wales Argus]]|date=21 March 2013 |access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref> Higher education courses in the county are provided through the campus of [[Coleg Gwent]] at Rhadyr, near [[Usk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coleggwent.ac.uk/campuses/usk|title=Usk campus, Coleg Gwent|publisher=[[Coleg Gwent]]|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref>

There are four [[Secondary education in Wales|maintained secondary schools]] in the county,<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://leveltheplayingfield.wales/local-authorities/monmouthshire|title=Secondary schools in Monmouthshire, Wales|publisher=Level Playing Field|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref> [[Caldicot School]], serving the south of the county; [[Monmouth Comprehensive School]] serving the east; [[Chepstow School]], serving the town of [[Chepstow]] and the surrounding villages; and [[King Henry VIII 3–19 School, Abergavenny|King Henry VIII 3–19 School]] in [[Abergavenny]], serving the town and the north of the county. All have [[sixth-form]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/secondary-schools/|title=Secondary schools in Monmouthshire, Wales|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|date=22 January 2024|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref> There was one special school, Mounton House School, based at [[Mounton House]] near Chepstow, but that closed in 2020 and, as at 2024, there is no specific special school provision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49741267|title=Mounton House special school closure backed by council|publisher=[[BBC Wales]]|date=18 September 2019|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref> There are 30 [[Primary education in Wales|primary schools]] of which two are [[Welsh language]] medium. There are no full Welsh language medium secondary schools, although all offer the option of studying Welsh.<ref name="auto1"/> The only [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|independent secondary provision]] in the county is [[Haberdashers' Monmouth School]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.monmouthshirebeacon.co.uk/news/royal-visit-to-haberdashers-monmouth-school-marks-historic-new-chapter-726460|first=Desmond |last=Pugh|title=Royal Visit to Haberdashers' Monmouth School Marks Historic New Chapter|work=[[Monmouthshire Beacon]]|date=1 October 2024|access-date=3 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=3 October 2024 |publisher=[[Worshipful Company of Haberdashers]] |title=Haberdashers' Monmouth School |url=https://www.habsmonmouth.org/}}</ref> formed in 2024 from an amalgamation of [[Monmouth School for Boys]] and [[Monmouth School for Girls]], and operated by the [[Worshipful Company of Haberdashers|Haberdashers' Company]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.isc.co.uk/schools/wales/monmouthshire/monmouth/|title=Independent schools in Monmouth|publisher=[[Independent Schools Council]]|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref>

===Health services===
The [[Aneurin Bevan University Health Board]] is the [[Local health board]] for Gwent within [[NHS Wales]] and has responsibility for health care within the county.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abuhb.nhs.wales/about-us/the-health-board/|title=The Health Board|publisher=Aneurin Bevan University Health Board|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The largest hospital in the county is the [[Nevill Hall Hospital]] at Abergavenny. Its range of services has reduced following the opening of the specialist critical care centre at the [[Grange University Hospital]] in Torfaen in 2020. The Grange is also the designated trauma centre for Gwent, which covers Monmouthshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abuhb.nhs.wales/files/clinical-futures/clinical-futures-documents/nevill-hall-hospital/|title=Nevill Hall Hospital|publisher=Aneurin Bevan University Health Board|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> The [[Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015]] established Public Services Boards throughout Wales to oversee health and well-being, and following reorganisation in 2021 a Gwent public services board was created to have oversight for Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport and Torfaen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gwentpsb.org/en/|title=Gwent Public Services Board|publisher=Gwent Public Services Board|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Flag of Monmouthshire.svg|thumb|right|Monmouthshire's flag, adopted in 2011]]
===Flag===
The [[flag of Monmouthshire]] was officially adopted in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcounties.co.uk/news/135-monmouthshire-flag-registered|title=Monmouthshire Flag Registered|publisher=[[Association of British Counties]]|date=30 September 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911203556/http://abcounties.co.uk/news/135-monmouthshire-flag-registered|archivedate=11 September 2012}}</ref> It features three gold [[fleur-de-lis]] on a black/blue background.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://monmouthshire-association.org.uk/flag|title=Monmouthshire - the official county flag|publisher=Monmouthshire Association|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref>

===Built and landscape heritage===
{{main|Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire|Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire|Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire}}

Monmouthshire has 2,428 [[listed buildings]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/monmouthshire|title=Listed Buildings in Monmouthshire|publisher=British Listed Buildings Online|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> including 54 at Grade I,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/monmouthshire/grade-i|title=Grade I Listed Buildings in Monmouthshire|publisher=British Listed Buildings Online|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> the highest grade, and 246 at Grade II*, the next highest grade.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/monmouthshire/grade-iix|title=Grade II* Listed Buildings in Monmouthshire|publisher=British Listed Buildings Online|access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> These include churches, a priory and an abbey, and several castles. The journalist [[Simon Jenkins]] notes the county's "fine collection" of these,{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=163}} mostly dating from the [[Norman invasion of Wales]], and describes [[Chepstow Castle|Chepstow]] as "the glory of medieval south Wales".{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=169}} The castle at [[Raglan Castle|Raglan]] is later, dating from the mid-fifteenth century.{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=174}} The fortified [[Monnow Bridge|bridge]] over the [[River Monnow]] at [[Monmouth]] is the only remaining fortified river bridge in the country with its gate tower standing on the bridge, and has been described as "arguably the finest surviving medieval bridge in Britain".{{sfn|Hayman|2016|p=69}} Monmouthshire has a more "modest"{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=163}} range of churches, although that at [[Church of St Aeddan, Bettws Newydd|Bettws Newydd]] has "perhaps the most complete [[Rood screen|rood]] arrangement remaining in any church in [[England]] and [[Wales]]".{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=120}} The county's Grade I listed abbey, at [[Tintern Abbey|Tintern]], became a focal point of the [[Wye Tour]]{{sfn|Tyerman|Warner|1951|p=3}} in the late-eighteenth century.{{sfn|Mitchell|2010|pp=65–74}} The county has 48 [[Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales|registered historic landscapes]] including five at Grade I and nine at Grade II*.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cadw.gov.wales/advice-support/cof-cymru/search-cadw-records|title=Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire|publisher=[[Cadw]]|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

===Sport and leisure===
[[File:Monmouth rowing club.jpg|thumb|left|[[Monmouth Rowing Club]] boathouse on the [[River Wye]]]]
Monmouthshire has [[rugby union]] clubs at [[Abergavenny RFC|Abergavenny]] and [[Monmouth RFC|Monmouth]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abergavenny.rfc.wales/|title=Abergavenny Rugby Football Club|publisher=Abergavenny RFC|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://monmouth.rfc.wales/|title=Monmouth Rugby Football Club|publisher=Monmouth RFC|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> and an invitational county team, [[Monmouthshire County RFC]]. It has [[association football|football]] clubs at [[Abergavenny Town F.C.|Abergavenny]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://es.soccerway.com/teams/wales/abergavenny-town/36545/|title=Abergavenny Town Football Club|publisher=Soccerway.com|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> [[Caldicot Town F.C.|Caldicot]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caldicottownafc.com/|title=Caldicot Town Football Club|publisher=Caldicot Town FC|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> [[Chepstow Town F.C.|Chepstow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ardalsouthern.cymru/ardal-se/clubs-se/chepstow-town/|title=Chepstow Town Football Club|publisher=Ardal Leagues|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> and [[Monmouth Town F.C.|Monmouth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monmouthtown.co.uk/|title=Monmouth Town Football Club|publisher=Monmouth Town FC|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> The football clubs play in the [[Ardal Leagues]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://other-leagues.cymrufootball.wales/other-leagues/ardal-south-east/|title=Ardal Leagues South-East|publisher=Cymru Football|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> and the [[Gwent County League]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://autocentresgcfal.pitchero.com/|title=Gwent County League|publisher=pitchero.com|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> [[Monmouthshire County Cricket Club]] was established in the 19th century and achieved a notable victory in 1858 when a Monmouthshire XXII beat an [[Non-international England cricket teams|All-England XI]] at a match on Newport Marshes. The club suffered financial difficulties in the 1930s and merged with [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club]] in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/monmouthshire/|title=Monmouthshire|publisher=CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Monmouthshire has a rowing tradition on the River Wye, with the [[Monmouth Rowing Club]], founded in 1928,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monmouthrc.org.uk/|title=Welcome page|publisher=[[Monmouth Rowing Club]]|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref> and all three of the town's secondary schools having their own rowing clubs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcsbc.co.uk/about.htm|title=About MCSBC|publisher=[[Monmouth Comprehensive School]]|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.habsmonmouth.org/girls/sport/all-sports/rowing/|title=Rowing|publisher=[[Monmouth School for Girls]]|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.habsmonmouth.org/boys/sport/all-sports/rowing/|title=Rowing|publisher=[[Monmouth School for Boys]]|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref> 

[[Chepstow Racecourse]] hosts the [[Welsh Grand National|Coral Welsh Grand National]], the richest [[thoroughbred horse racing]] event in Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk/coral-welsh-grand-national|title=Coral Welsh Grand National|publisher=[[Chepstow Racecourse]]|website=www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> [[The Hendre|The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club]] at [[Rockfield, Monmouthshire|Rockfield]] is ranked in the 50 top courses in Wales,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.therollsgolfclub.co.uk/|title=Top Golf Course and Wedding Venue in Wales|publisher=The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> while the [[St Pierre, Monmouthshire#Golf club|St Pierre course]] in the south of the county hosted the [[Epson Grand Prix of Europe]] and the [[British Masters]] in the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://golfsouthwest.co.uk/course/st-pierre-golf-club-old-course/|title=St Pierre Golf Club (Old Course)|date=4 January 2021 |publisher=Golf Southwest|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

Monmouthshire has some major [[caving]] sites. [[Ogof Draenen]], at [[Pwll Du]] in the north west of the county, is the longest [[cave]] system in Wales, and the second-longest in [[Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pdcmg.org/draenen/|title=The Ogof Draenen System|publisher=Pwll Du Cave Management Group|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> Its full extent was identified by members of the Morgannwg Caving Club in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ogof.org.uk/ogof-draenen.html|title=Ogof Draenen|publisher=Caves of South Wales|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> In the south of the county, underneath Chepstow Racecourse, [[Otter Hole]] is considered one of the best [[Speleothem|decorated]] caves in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ukcaves.co.uk/cave-otter|title=Ottor Hole|publisher=UK Caves Database|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref>

Several [[Long-distance trail|long-distance footpaths]] pass through the county, including the [[Marches Way]], the [[Three Castles Walk, Monmouthshire|Three Castles Walk]], [[Offa's Dyke Path]], the [[Usk Valley Walk]], the [[Monnow Valley Walk]] and the [[Wye Valley Walk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/walks-and-trails/|title=Walking routes and trails|publisher=[[Monmouthshire County Council]]|date=6 February 2023|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> Chepstow is a terminus for two long-distance cycle routes which form part of the [[National Cycle Network]]: [[National Cycle Route 8]] which runs from either Chepstow or Cardiff in the south to [[Holyhead]] in the north, and the [[Celtic Trail cycle route]] which runs east to west, from Chepstow to [[Fishguard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kingfishervisitorguides.com/features/sport-in-monmouthshire/|title=Sport in Monmouthshire|date=20 July 2018 |publisher=Kingfisher Guides|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
[[File:Augusta Hall.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|right|[[Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover|Lady Llanover]], 1862]]
{{main|Cuisine of Monmouthshire}}

The cuisine of Monmouthshire traditionally focused on its local produce, including [[lamb and mutton]] from [[Sheep farming in Wales|sheep farming]] in the hillier north of the county,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/10820629.monmouthshire-farmer-wins-industry-award/|title=Monmouthshire farmer wins industry award|date=20 November 2013|publisher=[[South Wales Argus]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> poultry and [[Game (hunting)|game]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/food-and-drink/producers|title=Producers|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> [[Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover|Lady Llanover]], (bardic name ''Gwenynen Gwent'' — "the bee of Gwent"), was an early champion of Welsh culture and cuisine; her ''First Principles of Good Cookery'', published in 1867, was one of the first Welsh cookery books.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/1282890731|title=The first principles of good cookery illustrated : and recipes communicated by the Welsh hermit of the cell of St. Gover, with various remarks on many things past and present|first=Augusta|last=Hall|publisher=[[WorldCat]]|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The contemporary writer, Gilli Davies, in her study of Welsh food, ''Tastes of Wales'', writes of the "rare and appealing quality to the food in Monmouthshire".{{sfn|Davies|1990|p=70}} The county has a small [[viniculture]] industry, with vineyards at [[Ancre Hill Estates]], north of Monmouth; [[White Castle, Monmouthshire|White Castle]] vineyard near Abergavenny,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-36177050|title=Welsh vineyards 'could increase to 50 by 2035'|date=1 May 2016|publisher=[[BBC Wales]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> and the [[Tintern|Tintern Parva]] vineyard in the [[Wye Valley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23922176.parva-farm-vineyard-wins-best-white-wine-wales-award/|title=Tintern vineyard wins 'best white wine in Wales' award|date=18 November 2023|publisher=[[South Wales Argus]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/8deb81f0-1215-11e6-91da-096d89bd2173|title=How Welsh wine is wooing connoisseurs|first=Matthew|last=Wilson|date=12 May 2016|publisher=[[Financial Times]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> There are two [[Michelin Guide#Stars|Michelin starred]] restaurants in Monmouthshire, [[The Walnut Tree (restaurant)|The Walnut Tree]] at [[Llanddewi Skirrid]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/monmouthshire/llanddewi-skirrid/restaurant/walnut-tree | title=Walnut Tree – Llanddewi Skirrid |publisher=Michelin|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> in the north of the county and [[The Whitebrook]] at [[Whitebrook]] in the east.<ref>{{cite news|title=Michelin-starred Crown at Whitebrook in surprise name change under new chef Chris Harrod|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/michelin-starred-crown-whitebrook-surprise-name-8647676|work=Wales Online|access-date=6 March 2024|date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/gb/monmouthshire/restaurants|title=Monmouthshire Michelin Restaurants|publisher=Michelin Guide|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> [[Abergavenny Food Festival]] is held annually each September. Established in 1991, it has been described as one of Britain's best food and produce events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/days-out/best-food-festivals-uk#abergavenny|first1=Natasha|last1=Goodfellow|first2=Tanya|last2=Jackson| title=The UK's best food festivals: What to book in 2023|publisher=[[BBC]] [[Countryfile]]|date=21 June 2023|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://theweek.com/arts-life/food-drink/952788/uk-best-food-drink-festivals | title=The UK's best food and drink festivals in 2024 | website=[[The Week]] | date=11 May 2021|access-date=29 December 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/the-ultimate-guide-to-britains-best-autumn-food-festivals/ | title=The ultimate guide to Britain's best autumn food festivals – to book now|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=19 August 2023|last1=Paris|first1=Natalie|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

===Media, the arts and local history===
[[File:The Savoy Theatre, Monmouth - geograph.org.uk - 1070497.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Savoy Theatre, Monmouth]] claims to be Wales's oldest]]
Monmouthshire has three local newspapers, the ''Abergavenny Chronicle'', the ''Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review'' and the ''[[Monmouthshire Beacon]]''. All are published by [[Tindle]], a regional media group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tindlenews.co.uk/portfolio/,%20http://tindle.wpenginepowered.com/portfolio/|title=Portfolio – Tindle News|publisher=Tindle News|website=tindlenews.co.uk|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> Digital reporting is provided by the Monmouthshire Free Press Series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freepressseries.co.uk/|title=Free Press - in Chepstow, Pontypool, Caldicot & Wales|website=www.freepressseries.co.uk|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> [[Sunshine Radio (Herefordshire and Monmouthshire)]] is the only local radio station, although it is based in Hereford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/amfm/al326-1.htm|title=Analogue Radio Stations|publisher=Ofcom|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> [[Rockfield Studios]] is a major residential [[recording studio]] which has seen bands and artists such as [[Coldplay]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] and the [[Manic Street Preachers]] record material. [[Queen (band)|Queen]] recorded most of "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" at Rockfield in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rockfieldmusicgroup.com/|title=Rockfield – The Legendary Welsh Recording Studios|publisher=[[Rockfield Studios]]|access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref>

There are two theatres in Monmouthshire, the [[Borough Theatre]] in Abergavenny,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abergavennychronicle.com/news/borough-theatre-to-finally-reopen-its-doors-this-week-588729|title=Borough Theatre to finally reopen its doors this week|date=17 January 2023|website=Abergavenny Chronicle}}</ref> and the [[Savoy Theatre, Monmouth]]. Operated by a charitable trust, the Savoy claims to be the oldest theatre in Wales.<ref name=freepress>{{cite web|url=http://www.freepressseries.co.uk/news/9461839.Monmouth_theatre_gets___6k_boost/|title=Monmouth theatre gets £6k boost  |publisher=Monmouthshire Free Press|date=10 January 2012|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Museums of local life are located at [[Abergavenny Museum|Abergavenny]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/abergavenny-museum-and-castle-p1502571|title=Abergavenny Museum|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> [[Chepstow Museum|Chepstow]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/chepstow-museum-p1502691|title=Chepstow Museum|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> [[Usk#Usk Rural Life Museum|Usk]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/usk-rural-life-museum-p1502781|title=Usk Rural Life Museum|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> and [[Monmouth Museum|Monmouth]]. During the closure of the Monmouth museum in 2020-2021 in the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]], the council announced that the museum would not re-open and that its collections, including an important assemblage of memorabilia related to [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]] donated to the town by [[Georgiana Rolls, Baroness Llangattock|Georgiana, Lady Llangattock]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/shire-hall-museum-monmouth-p1503101|title=Shire Hall Museum|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> would be relocated to the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth|Shire Hall]]. The museum's [[Market Hall, Monmouth|Market Hall]] site would be redeveloped for commercial use. The council intends to complete the transfer by 2027.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monlife.co.uk/heritage/the-shire-hall/|title=Shire Hall Museum|date=15 October 2019 |publisher=Monlife|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The [[Monmouth Regimental Museum]], located at [[Great Castle House]] in Monmouth, contains material related to the [[Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/monmouth-castle-and-regimental-museum-p1503111|title=Monmouth Castle & Regimental Museum|publisher=Visit Monmouthshire|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

In 2012, the launch of [[Monmouthpedia]], a project to use [[QRpedia]] [[QR codes]] to provide multilingual [[smart phone]] access to Wikipedia articles on notable subjects in the area, saw Monmouth described as the "world's first Wikipedia town".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/17/worlds-first-wikipedia-town-to-launch-in-wales/|first=Cassandra|last=Vinograd|title=World's first Wikipedia town to launch in Wales|work=[[Washington Times]]|date=17 May 2012|access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref>

==Historiography==
[[File:Dixton Church, Monmouth - geograph.org.uk - 604133.jpg|thumb|upright|"The lovely white church of [[St Peter's Church, Dixton|Dixton]]"{{sfn|Hando|1958|pp=115–117}} – [[Fred Hando]] chronicled many such "little places of a shy county".{{sfn|Hando|1944|p=15}}]]
The development of tourism in the late 18th century saw the writing of a number of histories of the area, which frequently combined the features of a guidebook with a more formal historical approach. Among the first was [[William Gilpin (priest)|William Gilpin]]'s ''Observations'', published in 1782.{{sfn|Gilpin|1782}} Among the most notable was [[William Coxe (historian)|William Coxe]]'s two-volume ''An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire'', published in 1801. Coxe's preface explains the tour's genesis: "The present work owes its origin to an accidental excursion in Monmouthshire, in company with my friend [[Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet|Sir Richard Hoare]], during the autumn of 1798."{{sfn|Coxe|1995a|loc=Preface}} A detailed county history was undertaken by [[Joseph Bradney|Sir Joseph Bradney]], in his ''[[A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time]]'', published over a period of 30 years in the early 20th century.{{sfn|Bradney|1991|loc=preface}} 

Studies of the architecture of the county include [[John Newman (architectural historian)|John Newman]]'s ''Gwent/Monmouthshire'' volume of the [[Pevsner Architectural Guides|Pevsner Buildings of Wales series]]; and, most exhaustively, [[Cyril Fox|Sir Cyril Fox]] and [[FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan|Lord Raglan]]'s three-volume study, ''[[Monmouthshire Houses]]''.{{sfn|Fox|Raglan|1994|loc=preface}} This was described by the architectural historian [[Peter Smith (architectural historian)|Peter Smith]], author of the magisterial ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', as "one of the most remarkable studies of vernacular architecture yet made in the British Isles,{{sfn|Smith|1975|p=7}} a landmark, in its own field, as significant as [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s ''[[Origin of Species]]''".{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=84}}

The 20th century saw the publication of two lesser histories: [[Hugo Tyerman]] and Sydney Warner's ''Monmouthshire'' volume of [[Arthur Mee]]'s ''[[The King's England]]'' series in 1951;{{sfn|Tyerman|Warner|1951|p=3}} and Arthur Clark's two-volume ''The Story of Monmouthshire'', published in 1979–1980.{{sfn|Clark|1979|loc=Introduction}}{{sfn|Clark|1980|loc=Introduction}} The history of the county was covered in more anecdotal form by the Monmouthshire writer and artist [[Fred Hando]], who chronicled the highways and byways of the county in some 800 newspaper articles written from the 1920s until his death in 1970 and published in the [[South Wales Argus]], focusing on "the little places of a shy county".{{sfn|Hando|1944|p=15}} The 21st century saw the publication of the county's most important history, the five-volume ''[[Gwent County History]]''. The series, modelled on the [[Victoria County History]] and with [[Ralph A. Griffiths]] as editor-in-chief, was published by the [[University of Wales Press]] between 2004 and 2013 and covered the history of the county from prehistoric times to the 21st century.{{sfn|Green|2004}}{{sfn|Griffiths|Williams|Croll|2013}}

==See also==
* [[Monmouthshire (historic)]]
* [[List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)#Monmouthshire]]
* [[Gwent (county)]]
* [[Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire]]
* [[Sheriff of Monmouthshire]]

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{noteslist}}

===References===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin | 30em}}
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}}
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}}
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| title = The Twentieth Century
| chapter = Local government
| series = [[Gwent County History]]
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| last1 = Tyerman | first1 = Hugo |author1-link=Hugo Tyerman
| last2 = Warner | first2 = Sydney
| editor = Arthur Mee
| editor-link = Arthur Mee
| year = 1951
| title = Monmouthshire
|url = 
| series=The King's England
| location = London
| publisher = [[Hodder & Stoughton]]
| oclc = 764861 
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Weeks | first = Robert
| editor1-first= Madeleine|editor1-last= Gray 
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| volume = 3
| year = 2009
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|year=1984
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}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last = Clark | first = Arthur
| year = 1953
| title = Raglan Castle and the Civil War in Monmouthshire
| url = 
| location = Newport, Wales
| publisher = Newport & Monmouthshire Branch of the Historical Association and Chepstow Society
| oclc = 249172228
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Tribe |first=Anna
|title=Raglan Castle and the Civil War
|url=
|year=2002
|location=Caerleon
|publisher=Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association
|oclc=
}}
*{{Cite book
|last = Hando | first = Fred
|title=Journeys in Gwent
|url=
|year=1951
|publisher=R. H. Johns Ltd.
|location= [[Newport, Wales|Newport]]
|oclc=30202753
}}
*{{Cite book
|last = Hando | first = Fred
|title=Monmouthshire Sketch Book
|year=1954
|publisher=R. H. Johns Ltd.
|location= [[Newport, Wales|Newport]]
|oclc=30166792
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Monmouthshire}}
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/MON/Gaz1868.html Genuki National Gazetteer of 1868]

{{Wales subdivisions}}
{{Monmouthshire}}
{{Transport in Monmouthshire}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Monmouthshire| ]]
[[Category:Counties of Wales]]
[[Category:Principal areas of Wales]]