- Sudbrook, Monmouthshire
Sudbrook is a
village inMonmouthshire , south eastWales ,United Kingdom .Location
Sudbrook is located four miles south west of
Chepstow and one mile east ofCaldicot . It lies close [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/346959] to theSecond Severn Crossing [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/449970] on theSevern Estuary , and adjoins the village ofPortskewett within the Caldicot Levels. Until the late 19th century it was also known as Southbrook.Amenities & History
Sudbrook is home to one of only two
Welsh language basedprimary school s in Monmouthshire [ [http://www.ysgolyffin.ik.org/ Our School Website - Powered by schools.ik.com ] ] .History
udbrook hill fort
Sudbrook was of early historic importance in guarding the
Severn estuary at an ancient ferry crossing place between the Welsh and English sides. AnIron age hillfort is located on the coast, probably built and occupied by theSilures from the2nd century BC and later occupied by the Romans from the 1st century AD until the 4th century. The hillfort was originally much bigger than now, but has been eroded away over the centuries. Finds of coins at Black Rock,Portskewett , show that the ferry crossing was in use in Roman times, on the route between the Roman stations of "Aquae Sulis " (Bath) and "Venta Silurum " (Caerwent )http://www.portskewett.org/Heritage%20Trail/sudbrookleaflet.pdf] [http://www.severnsideforum.co.uk/action%20plan.pdf] [http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/642F4FB5-FB98-4D79-B0D5-595810D70D87/0/LANDMAPVolume5CulturalAspectTA13MB.pdf] .According to tradition, Caradog Freichfras, the Welsh ruler of Gwent in the
5th century or6th century AD, moved his court from Caerwent to the Portskewett area, possibly to the fort [ [http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/caradfgt.html EBK: King Caradog Freichfras of Gwent and the Vannetais ] ] .Holy Trinity Church
The ruined Holy Trinity
church stands near the Severn cliff. It has mostly fallen into the sea over the centuries. Thenave walls date from the12th century ; thechancel was added in the14th century and the south porch in the15th century .The
preaching cross which is now inside the church was originally outside and was probably moved to prevent it falling into the sea as the cliff eroded. The area around the church was probably the site of the originalmedieval village. Amanor house and other village buildings stood nearby but later moved inland, probably when climate changes in the14th century and15th century led to the widening of theestuary and the erosion of the cliff.By
1720 the church had fallen down and much of the churchyard had fallen into the river with human bones from the graves often being found on the shore.udbrook Village
Most of Sudbrook was built as a new village for workers on the
Severn Tunnel , on which construction began in1873 . The first cottages were built by contractor T. A. Walker in1877 , and rapid development took place over the next decade, including a school,post office , mission hall and infirmary. Some of the houses - originally known as Concrete Row - are believed to be the firstconcrete houses built in Britain.Also built was a large pumping station, required to pump water from the tunnel, including three large brick engine houses housing six steam engines, and ventilation towers. The steam engines were replaced by electrical engines in
1962 , and the chimney stacks taking smoke from the furnaces were demolished in1968 .After the
Severn tunnel was opened in1886 , Walker started a shipbuilding business at Sudbrook, using the same labour force. This continued in operation, building steamers of up to 700 tonnes, until1926 .Between
1958 and2006 , local employment in the village was provided by a large paper mill, which made use of water from the tunnel.See also
*
Sudbrook Cricket Club
*Portskewett
*Severn Tunnel
*New Passage References
External links
* [http://www.sudbrook.info/ Sudbrook Info - history etc]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~familyalbum/kskewet.htm Kelly's 1901 Directory of Monmouthshire]
*
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