Vauxhall Fields, also known as Vauxhall Meadows, are

water meadows A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water ...

to the northwest 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 ...

town centre, Wales. The

River Monnow The River Monnow () marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of Monmouth. The ...

borders the meadows on two sides. The meadows have generally remained free of development. The area has been prone to flooding on many occasions over the years.

History

Before 1880 the area was mainly farmland. The area was originally made up of several fields:- Castle Field Meadows, Lower Priory Holme, Middle Priory Field, and Bridge Meadows.

Keith Kissack Keith Edward Kissack MBE (18 November 1913 – 31 March 2010) was a British schoolteacher and historian. He is notable for his many publications on the history of Monmouth and Monmouthshire. Life Kissack was born in Clun, Shropshire, to Rev. B ...

, ''Victorian Monmouth'', The Monmouth Historical and Educational trust, , page 206 Castle Field was probably the main site of the battle in 1233 between the supporters of Henry III, King of England, and those of

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

, the

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

and Lord Marshal. In the late eighteenth century, part of the area was laid out as

pleasure grounds In English gardening history, the pleasure ground or pleasure garden was the parts of a large garden designed for the use of the owners, as opposed to the kitchen garden and the wider park. It normally included flower gardens, typically directl ...

by Mr. Tibbs, landlord of the Beaufort Arms Hotel, and became known as Vauxhall after

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being me ...

in London.

, ''Monmouth and its Buildings'', Logaston Press, 2003, , p.9 Vauxhall Farmhouse is a

Grade II Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

and has been since 8 October 2005. It is located about 500 m north of

Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle () is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales. Once an important border castle, and birthplace of Henry V of England, it stood ...

looking south across Vauxhall Meadows. The Vauxhall Fields area was used by Monmouth Show from 1946 until 2006, although the show was not held in 1956 or

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

due to outbreaks of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

. The fields were also used by

Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls was a boarding and day private school in Monmouth, Wales. Established by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892, in June 2022 the Haberdashers began a consultation on proposals to merge the school ...

as playing fields until the school bought its own land and built playing fields close to the school in the 1980s. More recently the fields have been used for the Wales International Kite Festival, steam rallies, Scout jamborees, dog shows, show jumping competitions, guided walks, fun runs and hot air balloon flights.

Horse racing

As early as 1734 horse racing was taking place in Monmouth. The early years of horse racing in Monmouth took place at Chippenham Park. It is not clear when the racing moved to Vauxhall Fields but by 1902 Monmouth Races put Monmouth at the Centre of National hunt racing.

, ''Victorian Monmouth'', The Monmouth Historical and Educational trust, , page 182 The fields were in use up until the races ended 1933. This ending almost 200 years of racing history in Monmouth. The racecourse layout is clearly marked on Ordnance Survey maps of Monmouth from 1900 to 1930 which also show the position of the Grandstand. Monmouth Museum has only one photograph of Monmouth races in progress taken c. 1925.''Monmouth and the River Wye in Old Photographs From The Collections of Monmouth Museum'', 1989. page 111. Alan Sutton Publishing Gloucester

Vauxhall Camp

The

Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) is the most senior regiment of the British Army Reserve. The regiment was formed in 1539 during the reign of by King Henry VIII. The R Mon RE (M) became a militia unit in 1660 and then became a p ...

(Militia) (R MON RE(M)) have a camp on Vauxhall Fields. The Royal Engineers constructed a bridge which was known as White Bridge in 1905. It was constructed by No.2 Company of the Monmouthshire Regiment and spanned the River Monnow until its replacement in 1931 with an Inglis Bridge, which still stands. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

is the only known example of an Inglis bridge still in public use in Britain. The Army announced that it intended to prohibit vehicles on the bridge from October 2011. The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers have used the field for medal-awarding ceremonies.

Air Field

On 25 August 1912 a small

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

aircraft became the first aeroplane to land in Monmouth when it landed on Vauxhall Fields. The plane was flown from Lark Hill on Salisbury Plain, via Weymouth and was flown by Lieutenant Fox. The plane eventually left with just the pilot on board due to the boggy ground unable to take more weight. The reason for the event is unknown.Alan Sutton Publishing, ''Monmouth and the River Wye in Old Photographs'', Alan Sutton Publishing, 1989, , page 75 Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 Aeroplane

Golf

A golf club called Vauxhall Golf Club was formed in 1892 by members of the army personnel stationed in the town. The majority of its members were army personnel. Vauxhall Golf club was eventually taken over by Monmouth Golf Club who used Vauxhall fields until 1903 when the club moved to the Hendre Estate as the Vauxhall fields were deemed unsuitable.

Housebuilding

In 2011 housebuilder

Taylor Wimpey Taylor Wimpey plc (formerly Taylor Woodrow plc) is one of the largest home construction companies in the United Kingdom. The company was created from the merger of rivals Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey on 3 July 2007. It is listed on the Lond ...

put forward a proposal to build 300 houses on and around the Fields as an alternative to a site identified in the draft

local development plan Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. The proposal was criticised for seeking to build on open countryside outside defined settlement boundaries.http://www.monmouthtoday.co.uk/Letters.cfmid=47458&headline=Vauxhall%20Fields%20worry Vauxhall Fields Worry

Gallery

File:Monmouth Vauxhall Fields Looking at the Town 1930's.jpg, Monmouth Vauxhall Fields Looking at the Town 1930's File:1900 Vaux Monmouth Race Course.png, OS Map 1900 Showing Vauxhall Fields Horse Racing Course File:1920 Vaux Monmouth Race Course.png, OS Map 1920 Showing Vauxhall Fields Horse Racing Course and the Army Camp at the Centre File:Vauxhall Fields Monmouth - Looking toward Monmouth Town Centre.JPG, Looking toward Monmouth Town Centre File:Vauxhall Fields, Monmouth.jpg, Vauxhall Fields looking north from the Slaughter Houses Monmouth File:Monmouth - Bridge over the Monow At Vauxhall - 1912.jpg, White Bridge at Vauxhall Fields – 1912 File:Monmouth Vauxhall Fields Inglis Bridge.JPG, Inglis Bridge – 2012. Occupies the same position as the White bridge in 1905. File:Vauxhall Farmhouse is a Grade II Listed building.JPG, Vauxhall Farmhouse – Grade II Listed building – 2012 File:Vauxhall Fields, Monmouth - Military buildings of Vauxhall Camp.JPG, Military buildings in Vauxhall Camp File:Vauxhall Fields Monmouth - North Facing.JPG, Vauxhall Fields Monmouth – North Facing File:Vauxhall Fields Monmouth - South Facing.JPG, Fields Monmouth – South Facing

References

{{Reflist Monmouth, Wales Wetlands of Monmouthshire Defunct horse racing venues in Wales