Robin Hood Inn

The Robin Hood Inn stands on Monnow Street in Monmouth, a town in Monmouthshire, Wales. The building dates from the late medieval period and is constructed of stone. Its most striking feature is a wide four-centre doorway from the fifteenth century. The inn is one of the few medieval structures still standing in Monmouth. In 1952 it was recognised as a Grade II* listed building. The inn played a notable part in Monmouth’s Catholic history. In the 1770s the landlord, Michael Watkins, allowed Mass to be celebrated in an upper room. This helped the town’s Catholic community during the Penal Laws. Watkins later petitioned magistrates to build St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. The inn and the church are two of the twenty-four sites on the Monmouth Heritage Trail. A blue plaque on the building commemorates this religious history. Inside, visitors find a traditional public house with low beams and an inglenook fireplace. The upper room where Mass was once held still exists. The inn’s exterior retains its medieval doorway and stone walls. Monnow Street itself is lined with other historic buildings. The town’s heritage trail offers a walk past many of these sites.