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Brynbuga / Usk

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"USK, a parish, post and market town in the hundred of Usk, county Monmouth, 12 miles S.W. of Monmouth, and 10 from Newport. It is a station on the Monmouth branch of the Newport and Hereford (Great Western) line. The town is beautifully situated on the river of its own name, which is here crossed by a fine and very substantial bridge of five arches, erected by William Edwards, the architect of the celebrated Pont-y-pridd. Usk is a sessions and polling town, and jointly with Monmouth and Newport sends a member to parliament." [Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

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Archives & Libraries

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Bibliography

  • Burge, Nigel D. The history of Usk Baptist Church : early beginnings - 1995. Usk : Usk Baptist Church, [1995] 66p.
  • Burrow & Co. The official handbook to Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Raglan and Usk. Cheltenham, London, 1904.
  • Clark, James H. Usk past and present ... Usk : County Observer Office, [1891?] 256p.
  • Courtney, Paul. Medieval and Later Usk. Cardiff : University of Wales Press, c1994. 165p.
  • Evans, J Daryll          Adam of Usk in his Native Place                Gwent Local History 70   1991   Welsh Journals Online
  • Foster, Brian        The Usk houses of correction and the early days of Usk County Gaol       Gwent Local History. No. 94 2003   Welsh Journals Online   &   Errata   Gwent Local History. No. 95 2003   Welsh Journals Online
  • Heaton, P M. The 'Usk' ships. : history of a Newport shipping venture. Risca : Starling Press, 1982. 88p.
  • James, Simon. Portrait of a parish : Usk. Gwent Family History Society Journal 22 (1989), p. 7-8.
  • John, W D. Pontypool and Usk japanned wares. Newport : Ceramic Book Company, 1966.
  • Leaver, Anne. A portrait of Usk. Usk : Laurels Publishing, 1989. 46p.
  • Lewis, David R. Usk recaptured : 100 years in pictures. Cwmbran : Village Publishing, 1988. 67p.
  • Manning, William H. The legionary fortress at Usk. Monmouthshire Antiquary 13 (1997), p. 37-42.
  • Mein, A G. Norman Usk : the birth of a town. Usk : The author, 1986. 128p.
  • Mein, A G. Usk Priory : an unrecorded excavation. Monmouthshire Antiquary 9 (1993), p. 43-5.
  • Mein, A G. St Mary's Priory Church, Usk : some recent work and some new theories. Monmouthshire Antiquary 16 (2000), p. 55-72.
  • Rickards, Robert. Church and Priory of S. Mary, Usk. London : Bemrose and Sons Ltd, 1904. 51p.
  • Street, Ernest             Royal Ordnance Factory, Glascoed            Gwent Local History vol 60 1986      Welsh Journals Online
  • Tyler, Stephanie. The Usk barrage and the environment. Planet 85 (1991), p. 116-18.
  • Usk official town guide ... Ogwr [Ogmore] : Kenrich Publications, 1994 - annual.
  • Williams, David H. Usk Nunnery. Monmouthshire Antiquary 4 (1980), p. 44-5.
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Census

1939 Register covering Glascoed "The 1939 Register is a special bonus for family and local historians. Censuses are usually only released 100 years after they were conducted. This information, which is very similar to a census, was released in 2015. The Register was taken on 29thSeptember 1939, to ensure that every citizen could be issued with an identity card, following the outbreak of World War 2. Records of people younger than 100 and still alive, or who died after 1991 are officially closed."

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Church History

Church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales. Ed. by   I.G   Jones, & D. Williams. UWP,  Cardiff, 1976. The names given towards the end of each entry are those of the informants.  Check with  Gwent RO to see what extant records are held, and possible names of chapels/churches built after 1851.

Usk Parish (part of)  with Gwehellog hamlet; Statistics; Area 2223 acres; Population 903 males, 873 females, total 1776

  • Usk
  • St Mary's Church, Usk      Attendance - morning 250 + 70 scholars, evening 550     2 services in English        William Evans, Vicar
  • St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church, Usk     Erected 1846    Attendance - morning 1340, afternoon 160             Argius (Joseph Alexander), Priest
  • The Twyn Chapel, Independent      Erected 1800      Attendance - morning 45 + 20 scholars, evening 50 + 20 scholars         Evan Jones, Deacon and Manager, Bridge St, Usk
  • Baptist Chapel, Usk     Erected 1842    Attendance - morning 61 + 12 scholars, evening 96 + 12 scholars          John Jones, Minister, Bank, Usk
  • Wesleyan Chapel, Middle St      Erected 1817    Attendance - morning 45, afternoon school, evening 70       John Creese, Steward
  • Gwehellog Hamlet
  • Wesleyan Chapel, Gwehelog      Erected 1822     Attendance -  morning 18, afternoon 80      James Hughes, Steward, Trostrey

Glascoed Hamlet being part of the Parish of Usk; Statistics; Area 1733 acres; Population 147 males, 115 females, total 262

  • Glascoed Chapel of Ease    Consecrated 1849 ... as an additional church      Attendance - afternoon 96      "Tradition says an ancient chapelry existed here but there are no remains....."  William Evans, Vicar of Usk
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  • The Former Congregational Chapel Twyn Sq Usk. - on the People's Collection Wales site
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Church Records

See the Monmouthshire county page for links to online records

  • This list of parish records is intended as a rough guide to coverage only. Their location as stated should be confirmed with the appropriate Record Office prior to any visit.
    Brynbuga / Usk, St Mary's Church - records with the Gwent RO
    BaptismsMarriagesBannsBurials
    1742-19631742-19571824-19651742-1953
    Bishops Transcripts1696, 1725-1858, 1865-1900 - records with the NLW
    [Details as published in The Parish Registers of Wales, NLW 1986 - present location/availability may vary]
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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Brynbuga / Usk which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

Glascoed People & Places  "Glascoed People and Places concentrates on the history of the hamlet of Glascoed in Monmouthshire and attempts to piece together connections and tell the stories of the people who lived their lives there."

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History

  • Various items  on the People's Collection Wales site
    • Llancayo Mill, Usk - Saunders, Roy 
    • A view of Usk Castle from the opposite bank of the River Usk.
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Maps

  • Family Search have an interactive map called "England and Wales Jurisdictions 1851" showing parish (and other) boundaries with optional background maps such as Ordnance Survey. There is also a Search facility, do read the guidance notes to get maximum benefit from this useful resource. See here for further background information to assist in the interpretation of this data
  • Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348.  Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county.
  • Various items  - on the People's Collection Wales site
    • Plan of the hamlet of Gwehelog in the parish of Usk in the County of Monmouth
    • Map of the hamlet of Glascoed in the parish of Usk in the County of Monmouth
    • Plan of the parish of Usk (excepting hamlet of Gwehelog) in the County of Monmouth

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SO358024 (Lat/Lon: 51.716705, -2.930774), Brynbuga / Usk which are provided by:

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Military History

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Newspapers

Front page of the earliest surviving copy of the Welsh newspaper The Illustrated Usk Observer dd Jul 7 1855 - on the People's Collection Wales site

Newspaper extracts