Sudbrook is a 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 ...

, south east Wales. It is located 4 miles south west of

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 1 mile east of Caldicot. It lies close to the

Second Severn Crossing The Prince of Wales Bridge (), previously the Second Severn Crossing () until July 2018, is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England and Wales, opened in 1996 to supplement the traffic capacity of the Severn Bridge built i ...

on 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 ...

, and adjoins the village of Portskewett. It was largely built in the late 19th century for workers on the Severn railway tunnel. At that time it was also known as Southbrook.

History

Sudbrook hill fort

Sudbrook was of early historic importance in guarding 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 ...

at an ancient ferry crossing place. An

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

is located on the coast, probably built and occupied by the

Silures The Silures ( , ) were a powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices; to the east by the Do ...

from the 2nd century BC and occupied by the Romans from the 1st century AD until the 4th century. The hillfort was originally much bigger than now having been eroded over the centuries. Finds of

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

at Black Rock, Portskewett, show that the ferry crossing was in use in Roman times, on the route between the Roman stations of ''

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 ...

'' (

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 ...

) and ''

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 ...

'' ( Caerwent). According to tradition,

Caradog Freichfras Caradoc Vreichvras (; Modern , ) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round Table, under the names King Carados and Ca ...

, the Welsh ruler of Gwent in the 5th century or 6th century AD, moved his court from Caerwent to the Portskewett area, possibly to the fort. Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Ray Howell (eds.), ''Gwent In Prehistory and Early History: The Gwent County History Vol.1'', 2004,

Holy Trinity Church

The ruined Holy Trinity

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 ...

stands near the Severn cliff. It has mostly fallen into the sea over the centuries. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

walls date from the 12th century; the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

was added in the 14th century and the south porch in the 15th century. The

preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Great Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of thes ...

which is now inside the church was originally outside and was probably moved to prevent it falling into the sea as the cliff eroded. The area around the church was probably the site of the original

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

village. A

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

and other village buildings stood nearby but later moved inland, probably when climate changes in the 14th and 15th centuries led to the widening of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

and the erosion of the cliff. By 1720 the church had fallen down and much of the churchyard had fallen into the river with human bones from the graves often being found on the shore.

Sudbrook village and the Severn Tunnel

Most of contemporary Sudbrook was built further inland by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

for workers on the

Severn Tunnel The Severn Tunnel () is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) be ...

below, which began construction in 1873. The first cottages were built by contractor Thomas A. Walker in 1877, and rapid development took place over the next decade, including a school,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, mission hall and infirmary. Some of the houses - originally known as Concrete Row - are believed to be the first

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

houses built in Britain. Also built was a large pumping station, required to pump water from the tunnel, including three large brick engine houses housing six steam engines, and ventilation towers. A branch line was built from the nearby Gloucester-Newport line to supply the pumping station with coal and engineering equipment, but fell into disuse in the early 2000s, and has now been disconnected from the main line. The steam engines were replaced by electric motors in 1962, and the chimney stacks taking smoke from the furnaces were demolished in 1968. After the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886, Walker started a shipbuilding business at Sudbrook, using the same labour force. This continued in operation, building steamers of up to 700 tonnes, until 1922. Between 1958 and 2006, local employment in the village was provided by a large paper mill, which made use of water from the tunnel. It was demolished in 2009.

Sudbrook Cricket Club

Sudbrook Cricket Club was formed during the 1860s.Sudbrook community website
/ref> It is believed that in the 1870s cricket was played at Black Rock, where

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

played against Sudbrook for a Bristol team. The team later played matches within the Iron Age camp, before moving several times, eventually to Caldicot where it remains.Sudbrook Cricket Club league details
The club achieved league status in the 1970s, and currently plays in Division One of the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire Cricket League.Glamorgan and Monmouthshire Cricket League

Amenities

In 2002 Ysgol y Ffin, one of only two

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

based

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s in Monmouthshire, was established in the old school building at Sudbrook. However, in 2008 the school outgrew the site and moved to Sandy Lane in Caldicot.

References

External links

Sudbrook Info - history etc

Geograph photos of the area
{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Populated places on the River Severn