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Monmouthshire Towns & Parishes

BRYNBUGA / USK, Monmouthshire

"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)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

Archives and Libraries

• Usk Rural Life Museum.

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.

Church History

• See John Ball's site Welsh Churches and Chapels Collection for a photograph/data re Mount Zion Baptist Chapel, Glascoed
• See John Ball's site Welsh Churches and Chapels Collection for a photograph/data re St Michael's Church, Glascoed

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

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
  Baptisms	Marriages	Banns	Burials
  1742-1963	1742-1957	1824-1965	1742-1953
  Bishops Transcripts	1696, 1725-1858, 1865-1900 - records with the NLW

  [Details as published in The Parish Registers of Wales, NLW 1986 - present location/availability may vary]

Description and Travel

• Usk is featured in a superb collection of photographs and information on the Wye Valley Railway.
• Usk - on wikipedia
• Usk Town Council
• Disused Usk Railway Station
• Usk photographs - on geograph.org.uk
• Usk - on Vision of Britain

Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Brynbuga / Usk from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

Maps

• 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

• View maps covering the area of this parish and places within its boundaries

Military History

• 'Castle Wales' site - Usk Castle.
• Usk Castle site.

(Last updated - Gareth Hicks  3 Oct 2012)

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