Abergavenny Town Walls

Description

An oval circuit, roughly 350m by 215m, originally defined by stone walled defences springing from the castle (Nprn94876) to the south-east: an incomplete line of defences, with some fabric, is preserved in modern wall lines and buildings: the walls are thought to have been redundant by mid.16th century. (Coflein)

The medieval town walls of Abergavenny are thought to have been constructed in the late 13th or early 14th centuries. There are walls standing along most of the course of the town wall on its western and northern sides. These are, however, generally of post-medieval date. There are small fragments of surviving medieval masonry, in a poor state of preservation, to the rear of the properties on the north side of Nevill Street. On the eastern side of the walls course there is little surviving evidence. There is, however, a fragment of medieval masonry at the foot of the rear wall of the market building as well as possible medieval masonry adjacent to the nearby stream. There is possible medieval masonry in, and to the rear of, Laburnum Cottage in Monk Street as well as a sizable portion to the rear of 23 and 24 Cross Street. (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

Running behind the gardens of the north-west side of Nevill Street along the lane entered through No. 69 Frogmore Street and going round to the back of the Kings Arms.
Fragments of medieval town walls built first in the C14 when Abergavenny had a complete circuit with four gates. This section ran from the North Gate (demolished late C18) in Frogmore Street to the Tudor Street Gate (demolished after 1802) which gave access to the road leading down to Usk Bridge (qv Merthyr Road). It was partially demolished and rebuilt in the centuries following the Civil War in the mid C17 so that very little ancient fabric now remains.
Red sandstone rubble. Only a few of the facing stones at the base can be considered ancient, the rest, some of which is about 4m in height, has been rebuilt later, some of it quite recently. The wall forms the garden boundary to Nos. 5-29 (odd) Nevill Street and is at its highest behind No.11. (Listed Building Report)

Abergeveney yt self is a faire waulled town, meately welle inhabited havyng ... paroch chirch. (Leland)

Comments

Oval area on ridge, c.350m by 215m, castle at the point. Murage grants for the town are recorded in AD 1241-6 and AD 1259 - 64 as well as 1285 and 1314 -19. It is thought that the latter two grants refer to the line of the town wall that is clearly delineated in the modern property boundaries of the town.