YOUNG ALHS
Abergavenny's
town wall
Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow and Brecon all used to be walled towns. Abergavenny’s wall was built by the Normans in the early 14th century but nearly all of it has disappeared. The wall was rebuilt over the years and some houses were actually built into the wall. You can see this beside Tudor Gate Surgery where there is a fire place in the wall that runs behind Nevill Street. Stone is expensive to quarry and transport and would not have been wasted. When the wall around the town was no longer needed and not repaired, the wall would have crumbled. The stones would have been recycled and become parts of Abergavenny’s houses.
The wall had four gates – North Gate at the top of Frogmore Street, South Gate on Cross Street, West or Tudor Gate on Castle Street and East Gate on Monk Street. There was also a smaller gate at the bottom of Market Street, sometimes called Traitors Gate. This was used by Owain Glyndwr and his army when they attacked the town.
If you follow the ALHS Blue Plaque Walk you can see where the wall used to run. If you go along the alley past 7Corners you can see where the wall runs behind Nevill Street, although this part is not so old. If you look in the car park behind the Market Hall there are some big stones coming out from under the market wall and some larger stones making up part of the wall. These are believed to be part of the original Town Wall.
Images: ALHS
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