Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (/ˈmɒnməθʃər, ˈmʌn-, -ʃɪər/; Welsh: Sir Fynwy) is a county in the 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 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 330 square miles (850 km²) and a population of 94,930. 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 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 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 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 millennia. During the 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 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 Royalist strongholds to fall to Parliamentarian forces in the English Civil War, and the county became a recusant stronghold in which Catholics were widely persecuted. In the mid-19th century, John Frost and other 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.