Monmouth

Monmouth is a historic town in south Wales, county town of the former county of Monmouthshire. It is situated at the confluence of the River Wye and River Monnow[?], and hence the name Monmouth is an abbreviation of 'Monnow Mouth'.

Monmouth boasts a 13th century stone gated bridge, unique in Britain as it is the only preserved bridge of its design remaining. Work is currently being undertaken on a second Monnow crossing to relieve pressure from motor vehicles on the old bridge. This project however has meant the demolition of the old cattle market, thus Monmouth is no longer the market town it has traditionally been, however a farmers' market selling local produce is still held.

Some famous people associated with Monmouth include:

• Geoffrey of Monmouth, born in 1090 and wrote Historia Regum Britanniae, the 'History of British Kings[?]'

• Henry V born in Monmouth castle in 1387, who was immortalised in his victory at Agincourt and the square in the centre of town is named after this battle.

• William Jones a liveryman of The Haberdashers Company[?] and founder of the towns grammer schools.

• Lord Nelson who payed two visits to the town and approved a naval temple on the nearby Kymin Hill. Monmouth is home to a large collection of Nelson material.

• Charles Rolls lived in Monmouth and was co-founder of the Rolls-Royce company and was the first man to make a non-stop crossing of the English Channel by plane. There is a statue of Charles Rolls in Agincourt square.

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Monmouth is also the name of a county in central New Jersey, in the United States of America.