Old Nag's Head, Monmouth

The Old Nag's Head, Old Dixton Road, Monmouth, Wales, is a nineteenth-century public house, with medieval origins, which incorporates a "stone drum tower of the town defences constructed between 1297 and c.1315."^[1] The tower is the only "upstanding remains of the town walls of Monmouth."^[2] The pub was designated a Grade II* listed building on 26 April 1955,^[3] its rating being due to "its interest as an early C19 public house which retains its character as well as a significant portion of a medieval gate-tower."^[4]

Old Nag's Head
The Old Nag's Head
General information
Type	Pub
Address	Old Dixton Road
Town or city	Monmouth
Country	Wales
Coordinates	51.8132°N 2.7104°W / 51.8132; -2.7104
Completed	Between 1297 and c.1315; nineteenth century
Designations	Grade II* listed

The Dixton Gate

The medieval gate-tower itself was seized by Lord Charles Somerset a Royalist on 17 November 1644 at around 5am during the Civil War and was the point through which the Royalists entered Monmouth to take the town from the Parliamentarians. Somerset and 40 horses reached Dixton Gate without opposition. The guard of six men fled. The Cavaliers then broke the chain of the Dixton Gate with a crowbar and entered the town. The action itself saw several members of the Parliamentary Committee for South Wales captured along with 200 officers and men. Arms and ammunition were also taken including some hammer guns.^[5]

The other tower and rest of the Dixton Gate were removed in 1770 because they were hindering the passage of coaches.^[6]

Rear of Nags Head Monmouth showing the stone work of Monmouth's Dixton Gate

Press

The Lonely Planet guide describes the Old Nag's Head as "an old-fashioned, no-frills, neighbourhood pub".^[7]

References

1. The Buildings of Wales: gwent/Monmouthshire, page 408
2. "Monmouth Town Walls and Defences". The Gatehouse Record. Gatehouse Gazetteer. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
3. Cadw. "The Old Nag's Head PH (Grade II*) (2312)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
4. "The Old Nag's Head Public House (410975)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
5. Jeremy Knight, Civil War & Restoration in Monmouthshire, Logaston Press, 2005, ISBN 1-904396-41-0, page 81
6. Kissack, Keith (1974). Mediaeval Monmouth. The Monmouth Historical and Educational Trust. p. 36.
7. "Old Nag's Head in Monmouth (Trefynwy), Wales". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

Sources

• Newman, J., The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, (2000) Penguin Books