Friday 25th June 1819
We were rather disappointed this Morning at finding no visible improvement in the Weather; we however did not delay in crossing the Ferry; at about ten o’Clock we set sail, and had, notwithstanding the rain an agreeable passage; we then proceeded to Chepstow; the entrance into this town is very
fine, the river Whye, with Chepstow Castle, and some magnificent rocks have a grand effect; the town itself is not worthy of notice; having gone to the Inn we equipped ourselves for walking (which was necessary the day being so very wet) we proceeded to inspect Chepstow Castle
It is a fine old ruin, we were conducted by our guide to the remains of the tower where Harry Martin was confined for life. there is also a large prison quite perfect, and a catholic Chapel; we returned to the Inn took a little refreshment and then advanced towards Piercefield a
most beautiful seat belonging to a Mr Wells, it is most thickly wooded; we walked all round the Park which is three Miles in extent and now and then caught most delightful and romantic views of the Wye with the varied scenery around; notwithstanding the incessant rain we were determined not to lose time and went
forward to the village of Tintern; to see the Abbey a very noble old ruin the ivy grows most luxuriously all over it; the day now becoming more thick and misty we determined not to view the interior of the abbey in hopes that tomorrow might prove to be sufficiently fine to enable us to revisit
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Chepstow was a focus of early tourism as part of the "Wye Tour" in the late eighteenth century and the tourist industry remains important today https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chepstow
The River Wye was and still is navigable up to Monmouth at least since the early 14th century. It was improved from there to a short distance below Hereford in the early 1660s with locks to enable vessels to pass weirs. In 1696 an Act of Parliament authorised the County of Hereford to buy up and demolish the mills on the Wye and Lugg. All locks and weirs were removed, except that at New Weir forge below Goodrich, which survived until about 1815. Weirs were removed all along the Wye in Herefordshire, making the river passable to the western boundary, and beyond it at least to Hay on Wye. A horse towing path was added in 1808, but only up to Hereford; previously, as on the River Severn, barges were man-hauled. The Wye remained commercially navigable until the 1850s, when commercial traffic moved to railways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wye
Chepstow Castle is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. The speed with which William the Conqueror committed to the creation of a castle at Chepstow is testament to its strategic importance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chepstow_Castle
Chepstow castle, view of the North aspect from across the river Wye. Author Andy Dingley. The image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chepstow_Castle_from_North_bank.jpg
Chepstow Castle, with Marten's Tower to the left and the current gatehouse on the right by Nilfanion for Wikimedia UK - This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
Harry Marten, having been involved in the trial of King Charles 1st, was found guilty of regicide. A colourful enigmatic character, he supported the levellers, contemplated the murder of Cromwell, was a strict puritan but maintained mistresses and lived a lavish life style. He escaped the death penalty and was sent into internal exile, first in the far north of England and then (1665) to Windsor Castle, where he remained until Charles II ordered him to be moved away from such close proximity to himself. In 1668 Marten was sent to Chepstow Castle where he died. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Marten_(regicide)
Henry Marten by Sir Peter Lely This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Marten_(regicide)#/media/File:Henry_Marten_(Martin)_by_Sir_Peter_Lely.jpg Original in National Portrait Gallery
Marten's Tower, his apartments within Chepstow Castle https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chepstow_castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1125349.jpg The copyright on this image is owned by Andy dolman and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
Piercefield House, now a ruin, sits within Piercefield Park. It was developed into a park of national repute as one of the earliest examples of picturesque landscaping. Morris laid out walks through the woodland, and included a grotto, druid's temple, bathing house and giant's cave. He also developed viewpoints along the clifftop above the River Wye, and opened the park up to visitors. One of the many tourists to marvel at this view was the poet Coleridge, who wrote: "Oh what a godly scene....The whole world seemed imaged in its vast circumference". The scientist and traveller Joseph Banks wrote: "I am more and more convinced that it is far the most beautiful place I ever saw". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercefield_House
The ruins of Piercefield House Over the years Piercefield House had many different owners until it was abandoned into the 1920s, today it is in a very sorry state.
The copyright on this image is owned by Philip Halling and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_ruins_of_Piercefield_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_802403.jpg
Nathaniel Wells, son of a Welsh merchant and a black slave, “Juggy”, inherited his father’s plantation and moved to England, buying Piercefield. He became active in local society, became a Church Warden of St. Arvan’s Church and a Justice of the Peace. Most notably Wells became a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Monmouthshire and was appointed High Sherriff of Monmouthshire in 1818, the first person of African ancestry to become a High Sheriff in England. As a lieutenant in the Chepstow Troop of the Gloucestershire Yeomanry Cavalry he became the second man of African ancestry to hold a commission in the armed forces of the Crown. In 1833 when slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire, Wells, along with many other plantation owners, illegally retained his slaves. Landscape painter Joseph Farington, described Wells in 1803 as "a West Indian of large fortune, a man of very gentlemanly manners, but so much a man of colour as to be little removed from a negro.” In spite of this comment, Dr Nick Draper of University College London's Legacies of British Slave Ownership Project states: "In the late 18th and early 19th Century there was still an attitude that people from other societies could be taught to live up to British ideals. Ironically, had he been born fifty or a hundred years later after slavery, it's doubtful that he'd have been able to rise to such an extent, as attitudes to race hardened somewhat in the Victorian age," In 1850, with failing health, Wells sold Piercefield to John Russell (1788–1873). Wells had been married twice – his second wife, in 1823, was Esther Wells née Owen (1804–1871) whose sister, Mary Frances Owen, was married to the eldest son of William Wilberforce – and had 22 children. Two of his sons became clergymen and the eldest, Nathaniel Armstrong Wells (1806–1846), an author, writing and illustrating an account of his travels through Spain. Wells died in Bath, Somerset, in 1852 at the age of 72, worth an estimated £100,000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Wells & https://blackpast.org/gah/wells-nathaniel-1779-13-may-1852 and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-33690383
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View of the Tintern Abbey ruins, taken from the East just as the sun rises over the hills. The inner courtyard is in view.
Outside of Wikimedia Foundation projects, attribution is to be made to Saffron Blaze, via http://www.mackenzie.co
Tintern Abbey was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain (after Waverley Abbey), and the first in Wales,founded on May 9, 1131. . The abbey fell into ruin after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. Its remains have been celebrated in poetry and painting from the 18th century onwards. Abbot Henry (ca 1150) was a former robber who repented of his ways, took the Cistercian habit and was duly appointed abbot of Tintern where he was renowned for his profusion of tears at the altar. The site welcomes approximately 70,000 people every year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintern_Abbey
Can you help us?
Old Regency Prints or Pictures and maps of the Old Coaching Routes: Any illustrations of what Lucy would have seen in 1819 will bring our research alive. Any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and sites will enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought.