Buckholt is a small village in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales, located some north of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, adjoining the boundary with

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a

linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...

situated in the valley of the Mally Brook along the

A466 road The A466, also known as the Wye Valley Road, is a road from Hereford, England to Chepstow, Wales via Monmouth, Tintern and the Wye Valley. The road was largely developed during the late 18th and early 19th centuries by turnpike trusts in Heref ...

between Monmouth and

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

History

The name Buckholt derives from words meaning "beech wood", and much of the area around the village remains wooded on steeply sloping valley sides. The local woods contain evidence of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

settlement, and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

material has also been found. Grist Castle Wood, rising above the valley to the east and adjoining Orles Wood, is thought to have been the site of a small fortification commanding the strategically important road between Monmouth and Hereford. In 1248 the Buckholt area was owned by

Monmouth Priory Monmouth Priory, in Priory Street, Monmouth, Wales, is a building that incorporates the remains of the monastic buildings attached to St Mary's Priory Church, Monmouth, St Mary's Priory Church. The priory was a Benedictine foundation of 1075, and ...

and the local lord

John of Monmouth John of Monmouth (c. 1182 – 1248) was an Anglo-Norman feudal lord of Breton ancestry, who was lord of Monmouth between 1190 and 1248. He was a favourite of both King John and his son, Henry III, and one of the most powerful royal allie ...

gave the monks certain rights and privileges in relation to the woodland. Buckholt Old Mill Farm is the site of a mediaeval

corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

owned by the Priory; the mill remained operational until the late 19th century. The area came into the possession of the

Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...

in 1682. ''The Gwent Village Book'', section on Buckholt, reproduced at VisitorUK.com
Accessed 27 March 2012 Houses built in the valley in the 18th and 19th centuries were mainly occupied by

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

burners and were constructed from local timber and stone. Charcoal burning was an important local activity until the 1890s. Building stone was provided by local quarries, including Callow Quarry which produces red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. Stone from the quarry was used to build Haberdashers' Schools in Monmouth and for restoring the town wall at Hereford. The quarry was taken over in 2007 by Black Mountain Quarries, based at Pontrilas, and remains operational.

Buildings

The church of St. John was built in 1889. Its octagonal font is dated 1663 and is said to have come from St Peter's Church at nearby Dixton.John Newman, ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', 2000, , p.135 A small school operated in a building opposite the church for 40 years after it was built in 1860. The Old Inn at Manson Cross was built in 1760 and is said to have been used by highwaymen. The Plough Inn at Buckholt was used by charcoal burners and millers. Both pubs have now been converted into private houses. The village hall was built in 1929 by public subscription. It continues to host a wide range of village activities. Farms in the area include Great Manson Farm, southwest of Manson Lane.

References

{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire