The Punch House is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and hotel located at

Agincourt Square Agincourt Square is an open space in the centre of Monmouth, Wales, in front of the Shire Hall. The area has been used for public functions and markets over the centuries. History The mediaeval market place in Monmouth developed from the ba ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

History

The Punch House was originally a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

called ''The Wine Vaults''. Records show the pub was in existence in 1769.

Keith Kissack Keith Edward Kissack MBE (18 November 1913 – 31 March 2010) was a British schoolteacher and historian. He is notable for his many publications on the history of Monmouth and Monmouthshire. Life Kissack was born in Clun, Shropshire, to Rev. ...

, ''Monmouth and its Buildings'', Logaston Press, 2003, , page 52 The pub was known as ''The Punch House'' from around 1832Heather Hurley, ''The Pubs of Monmouth Chepstow and The Wye Valley'', Logaston Press, 2007, , page 83 but did not change to ''The Punch House'' officially until 1896.Alan Sutton Publishing, ''Monmouth and the River Wye in Old Photographs'', Alan Sutton Publishing, 1989, , page 76 In 1822 the licensee was John Powell. While in the possession of the Powell family, the business also traded as a wines and spirits merchant. The pub that stands today was originally two pubs until the late 1990s. At that date the Punch House was extended to include The Bull public house which occupied the adjoining premises. The Bull itself was originally known as ''The Black Bull'' in the 1800s. The internal door which now unites the two lounges downstairs is said to be the door of

Monmouth County Gaol The County Gaol, situated in North Parade, Monmouth, Wales, was Monmouthshire's main prison when it was opened in 1790.Newman J., The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, (2000) Penguin Books, page 407 It served as the county jail of Monmou ...

.Label in the pub The building has been a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 15 August 1974. It has a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

frontage with chamfered quoins and a half hipped Welsh slate roof. The elevation is continuous with that of the Bull Inn which has a slightly lower roofline. The Punch House is one of the pubs in

who started using

QRpedia QRpedia is a mobile Web-based system which uses QR codes to deliver Wikipedia articles to users, in their preferred language. A typical use is on museum labels, linking to Wikipedia articles about the exhibited object. QR codes can easily be gene ...

codes as part of the

MonmouthpediA Monmouthpedia (styled as ) is a collaborative project linking the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and the town of Monmouth in South Wales. The project uses QRpedia QR codes to provide multilingual smart phone access to Wikipedia articles coveri ...

project in March 2012. Formerly owned by

Brains Brewery Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd.) is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. The company controls more than 250 pubs in South Wales (particularly in Cardiff), Mid Wales and the West Country. Th ...

, it was acquired by the Valiant Pub Company in December 2021.

Gallery

File:Punch House QRpedia.jpg, A picture with QR code for

File:Domestic violence in Agincourt Square - geograph.org.uk - 1707916.jpg, Punch House sign File:Monmouth - Agincourt Square 1930s.jpg, Agincourt Square in the 1930s showing the Punch House at the centre File:Monmouth Agincourt Square 1910.jpg, Punch house shown on the right of the Rolls Statue. The picture taken in 1910 also shows a plain wall where a window is now.

Notes

{{Buildings in Monmouth Coaching inns

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

Grade II listed hotels Grade II listed pubs in Wales Hotels in Monmouth Pubs in Monmouth