Shire Hall, Monmouth
Encyclopedia
The Shire Hall in Monmouth
was the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions
for Monmouthshire
. It was also used as a market place. Shire Hall is currently used as the offices for Monmouth Town Council.
court built in 1536. This in turn was replaced in 1571 by a timber-framed
construction. The timbers from the original building were used in the construction of the latter, which provided an open trading area on the ground floor with rooms above.
The figure of Henry V was added in 1792 by Charles Peart who was born in Monmouthshire but established himself as a professional sculptor.
The County Gaol was located a short distance from the court rooms. It was here that the Chartist
leader Henry Vincent
was imprisoned before being tried at the assizes. Vincent was convicted but the unpopularity of the verdict led to protests that eventually led to miners being killed in a clash with the military near Newport. After these deaths, John Frost
and others were arrested and charged with high treason
. In 1840, Frost, William Jones
and Zephaniah Williams
were tried here. All three were found guilty and became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
. There sentences were commuted to transportation.
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
was the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
for Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. It was also used as a market place. Shire Hall is currently used as the offices for Monmouth Town Council.
History
It was erected in 1724, on the site of an original ElizabethanElizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
court built in 1536. This in turn was replaced in 1571 by a timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
construction. The timbers from the original building were used in the construction of the latter, which provided an open trading area on the ground floor with rooms above.
The figure of Henry V was added in 1792 by Charles Peart who was born in Monmouthshire but established himself as a professional sculptor.
The County Gaol was located a short distance from the court rooms. It was here that the Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
leader Henry Vincent
Henry Vincent
Henry Vincent was active in the formation of early Working Men's Associations in Britain, a popular Chartist leader, brilliant and gifted public orator, prospective but ultimately unsuccessful Victorian MP, and later an anti-slavery campaigner.- Early life :Henry Vincent was born in High Holborn,...
was imprisoned before being tried at the assizes. Vincent was convicted but the unpopularity of the verdict led to protests that eventually led to miners being killed in a clash with the military near Newport. After these deaths, John Frost
John Frost (Chartist)
John Frost was a prominent Welsh leader of the British Chartist movement in the Newport Rising....
and others were arrested and charged with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. In 1840, Frost, William Jones
William Jones (Chartist)
William Jones was a political Radical and Chartist, who was a former actor, working as a watchmaker at Pontypool in Monmouthshire and was also keeping a beer house....
and Zephaniah Williams
Zephaniah Williams
Zephaniah Williams was born near Argoed, Sirhowy Valley, Monmouthshire, with much of his childhood spent near the then village of Blackwood, also living for some periods in Caerphilly and Nantyglo...
were tried here. All three were found guilty and became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
. There sentences were commuted to transportation.