Crick () is a small village or
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
in the
Welsh county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
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 ...
, United Kingdom. It is located on the
A48 road
The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wale ...
1 mile north of the town of
Caldicot and 1 mile east of
Caerwent.
History and amenities
The name has the same root as craig or graig in Wales and
Carrick (''An Charraig'') in Ireland, meaning "rock", but possibly refers to the
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 ...
round barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
just west of the village, measuring 31.7m in diameter and the only known
bell barrow in Wales.
It was excavated in 1940, and found to contain two
cremation
Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
s dating from around 1750-1450 BC. It also contained boulders showing
cup marks, which it has been suggested show astronomically significant alignments. There was also evidence of Roman building.
The site of Crick was an important junction on the
Roman road
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
sometimes known as the ''Via Julia'' which ran from
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
(''
Aquae Sulis
Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia. Today it is the England, English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Su ...
'') across the
Severn estuary
The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...
to
Sudbrook and on to
Caerwent (''
Venta Silurum
Venta Silurum was a town in Roman Britain (''Britannia''). The name ''Venta Silurum'' means "the town of the Silurēs", with the Silurēs being a powerful and warlike tribe. Today, it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshi ...
'') and
Caerleon
Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...
(''
Isca Augusta
Isca, variously specified as Isca Augusta or Isca Silurum, was the site of a Roman legionary fortress and settlement or ''vicus'', the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day suburban town of Caerleon in the north of the city of ...
''), now in Wales. At Crick the route met the roads to Gloucester (''
Glevum'') and Monmouth (''
Blestium
Blestium (also Blestio in the Antonine Itinerary (Iter XIII)) was a small fort and iron working centre in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, part of Roman Britain. It has been identified with the site of the later town of Monmouth in s ...
'').
There is also evidence of an early
Norman motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
at Ballan Moor, 550 metres south of the village, probably built by the Ballon family in the late 11th or early 12th century.
There was a chapel - variously referred to as St. Nuvien, Nyfain or Nyvein after the early Monmouthshire saint mentioned in the
Book of Llan Dav - which was converted into a barn in the old manor house of Crick. The barn is now St. Nyvern's Chapel House, part of the 16th-century Old Manor Farm. On the
Monmouthshire County Council
Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) () is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales.
The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern ...
depot site are the remains of a moated platform, believed to be of the 13th-century manor house of William Derneford, lord of Crick. The 18th-century Crick House, south of the A48, now a care home, was the home of John Lawrence, J.P., lord of
Langstone and
Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1869.
In July 1645, during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, a mediaeval hall at Crick was the site of a key meeting between
King Charles, who had been recently defeated at
Langport
Langport is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, ...
in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, and his nephew and ally
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...
.
David Broome, the former international equestrian show jumper is from the area and runs the David Broome Event Centre at Mount Ballan.
David Broome Event Centre
/ref>
See also
* Nedern Brook Wetlands
References
External links
Kelly's 1901 Directory of Monmouthshire Geograph photos of Crick
{{authority control
Villages in Monmouthshire