Chepstow Port Wall

The Port Wall in Chepstow stands as a late 13th-century stone wall built for defence and tax collection. It once formed a semicircle about 1,100 metres long, stretching from Chepstow Castle to the River Wye. The wall enclosed 53 hectares, including the town and its port at the time. Substantial sections of the wall remain intact today. Both the Port Wall and the Town Gate are Grade I listed buildings. The wall is also a Scheduled monument. Chepstow developed as an important port after the Norman conquest, trading timber, bark, and wine. Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, built the Port Wall between 1274 and 1278 to control access to the market. The wall had a walkway inside and battlements on top, with at least 11 towers. It originally included a dry ditch outside in some stretches. The wall’s construction used roughly squared stone ashlar blocks filled with rubble. Visitors today can walk along the surviving stretches of the wall, which remain up to 5 metres high and 2 metres thick. The Town Gate still marks one of the original entry points. Some sections near the railway line were lost in the 19th and 20th centuries. The wall once enclosed orchards, gardens, and wharves along the river. The remaining parts offer a clear view of Chepstow’s medieval defences.