Full Report for Listed Buildings
The list description is not intended to be a complete inventory of what is listed: it is principally intended to aid identification. By law, the definition of a listed building includes the entire building (i) and any structure or object that is fixed to the said building and ancillary to it and (ii) any other structure or object that forms part of the land and has done so since before 1 July 1948, and was within the curtilage of the building, and ancillary to it, on the date on which said building was first included in the list, or on 1 January 1969, whichever was later.
Summary Description
Reference Number
2477
Building Number
Grade
I
Status
Designated
Date of Designation
24/03/1975
Date of Amendment
12/11/2002
Name of Property
Port Wall
Address
Location
Unitary Authority
Monmouthshire
Community
Chepstow
Town
Chepstow
Locality
Chepstow
Easting
353259
Northing
193947
Street Side
Location
Extending from the curtain wall? of Chepstow Castle, uphill to the town gate and crossing to the quarry above the station.
Description
Broad Class
Defence
Period
History
Probably built between 1272 and 1278 by Roger Bigod III. It follows a course along defensible high ground to S of the medieval town; to N the town is bordered by the River Wye. The railway created a breach in the SE part of the wall in 1846 and the section leading down to the River Wye was destroyed in 1916 during the development of the shipyards. In later C20 a section was destroyed to create car-park access from Welsh Street and another for the route of the inner relief road.
Exterior
Town wall built entirely of unworked stone rubble. The area enclosed is 130 acres. The wall originally ran from the west end of the Castle to a point on the river bank to E, thus enclosing the peninsular. It is over two-thirds of a mile long, over 2m thick and from about 5 to 7m high. It was embattled with a wall-walk. Bastions were c 9m in diameter and D-shaped without arrow slits and open at the back, formerly with timber staging. Only wall openings are a series of square slots to drain water from the wall-walk. In places some coping stones survive. From a square turret in Castle Dell the wall extends S. It is clearly visible in the car-park and turns SE to link with the Town Gate, on either side of which it is incorporated into other buildings. It is visible again on high ground S of the relief road and then along the crest of the quarry by the station; in this latter section are five bastions.
Interior
Reason for designation
Graded I as an important medieval town wall, an integral part of the town's historical development and plan. Chepstow Town wall and Gate are Scheduled Ancient Monument 13/0703/MM002 (MON) G.
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