The Robin Hood Inn, Nos. 124 and 126, Monnow Street,

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. ...

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, wit ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, 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 wa ...

of late medieval origins. It was

Grade II* 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 ...

listed in 1952.

History

The Robin Hood Inn building has late medieval origins. It is constructed in stone, with a wide, four-centre doorway dating to the fifteenth century, and is a rare medieval survival in Monmouth. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the town was a centre for

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the landlord in the 1770s, Michael Watkins, allowed

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

to be celebrated in an upper room of the pub. The Penal Laws against Catholics were in force until the Papists Act of 1778, and Watkins was amongst those who successfully petitioned Monmouth magistrates to allow a building that would become St Mary's Roman Catholic Church. This public house and the church that Michael Watkins lobbied for are two of the 24 buildings in the Monmouth Heritage Trail. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

was added to the exterior of the building in 2009, which celebrated the religious history of the building. In 1848, one of the landlord's children accidentally set a curtain on fire by placing a candle too near it. The ensuing fire destroyed the curtain and a few items of clothing before it was contained. In 1882, the landlord, John Richards, was charged with being drunk and disorderly in his own house. He was found guilty and fined 10s and 7s costs. It was designated as 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 I ...

on 27 June 1952.

Notes

External links

* {{Buildings in Monmouth History of Monmouthshire Pubs in Monmouth Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed pubs in Wales