Redbrook is a village in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, adjoining the border with

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

. It is located on the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

and is within the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley () is a valley in Wales and England. The River Wye () is the Rivers of Great Britain#Longest rivers in the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the valley is in the Cambrian Mountains an ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

History

Both Upper and Lower Redbrook were mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as lying within the hundred of Bromsash and they were both listed under Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. At that time neither place was recorded as having any population. Redbrook was historically an important industrial centre with many industrial sites including mills, an

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

tinplate Tinplate consists of sheet metal, sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rust, rusting. Before the advent of cheap mild steel, the backing metal (known as "") was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinp ...

works and

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

works. The oldest site is the King's Mill, which was a

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 ...

first recorded in 1434 and which remained in use until 1925. The Redbrook Copper Works used ore brought from

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

via

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

and worked until 1740 when it closed down and the buildings were leased for the manufacturer of tinplate. It is from the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

that the village got its name – the brook running down the valley through the village often ran dark red. The tinplate factory, run by the Redbrook Tinplate Company, was known for the high quality product it made and did not close until 1962. Redbrook was also a river port where the various products of the local industries were shipped. The village once boasted no less than 13 inns and three breweries. The last brewery to close, in 1926, was Redbrook Brewery and the site is still marked by Brewery Yard and Brewery Terrace. Redbrook on Wye was the last station before Monmouth on the Wye Valley Railway. The railway was opened in 1876 to connect Monmouth to the South Wales line, closing to passengers in 1959 and freight in 1964.B. M. Handley and R. Dingwall, ''The Wye Valley Railway and the Coleford Branch'', 1982, Today a wood-decked footbridge spans the river which once carried the railway.

Amenities

Redbrook has a population of 372 and is a village amidst wooded hills. A little above the river is the 19th century

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

of St. Saviour. Two local

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the Boat Inn at

Penallt Penallt (also spelled Penalt) is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated high on a hill south of Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, stands the 17th-century village pub, the Bush Inn. Description Nearby, ''Penallt ...

on the Welsh side of the River Wye and the Bell Inn on the English side, serve local and visitors well. The Boat Inn is accessed from Redbrook via Penallt Viaduct, which used to carry the Wye Valley Railway across the River. The village also has a Post Office and stores. The

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws hillwalking, walkers from th ...

and the Wye Valley Walk run through the village.

Sports Club

Redbrook Rovers, established in the mid 1900s has 2 football teams, the first team currently playing in North Gloucestershire football league Premier Division and the Reserves in Division 3.

References

External links

Geograph – photos of the Redbrook areaRedbrook Village website
{{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire River Wye Forest of Dean