* The rural districts of Abergavenny, Chepstow, Monmouth and part of Pontypool Rural District.

Chepstow is administered by Monmouthshire County Council, one of the 22 unitary local authorities in Wales formed in 1996.

* Chepstow Town Council

Although Rowling has said that Gilderoy Lockhart is her only character that she " deliberately based on a real person ", Snape was reportedly based, at least in part, on John Nettleship, who taught Rowling chemistry and employed her mother as an assistant at Wyedean School near Chepstow.

The first creation dates from 1138, when the Earldom of Pembroke was conferred by King Stephen on Gilbert de Clare ( d. 1148 ), son of Gilbert Fitz-Richard, who possessed the Lordship of Strigul ( Estrighoiel, in Domesday Book ), the modern Chepstow.

On completion of the Second Severn crossing the motorway from Aust on the English side to Chepstow was renamed the M48 motorway | M48

Chepstow too was heavily influenced by Romanesque design, reusing numerous materials from the nearby Venta Silurum to produce what historian Robert Liddiard has termed " a play upon images from Antiquity ".

Before the outbreak of the First World War work was undertaken at Chepstow, Bodiam, Caernarfon and Tattershal ; after the end of the war various major state funded restoration projects occurred in the 1920s with Pembroke, Caerphilly and Goodrich amongst the largest of these.

The town of Venta Silurum ( Caerwent, six miles west of Chepstow ) was established in AD 75.

He was imprisoned three times: in 1645 for an injudicious preface to his Golden Grove ; again in Chepstow castle, from May to October 1655, on what charge does not appear ; and a third time in the Tower in 1657, because of the indiscretion of his publisher, Richard Royston, who had decorated his Collection of Offices with a print representing Christ in the attitude of prayer.

The event took place at the National Diving and Activity Centre ( NDAC ) near Chepstow, Gloucestershire, UK and was organised by members of the Yorkshire Divers internet forum.

He was sent prisoner first to Chepstow Castle, and afterwards to the Tower of London.

Tintern Abbey () was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131.

Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, the then lord of Chepstow, was a generous benefactor ; his monumental undertaking was the rebuilding of the church.

The Welsh name Cas-gwent refers to the " castle of Gwent ", a placename which itself relates to, and may derive from, the Roman name Venta which was used for the settlement at Caerwent, west of Chepstow.

After the Romans left, Chepstow was within the southern part of the Welsh kingdom of Gwent, known as Gwent Is-coed.

This was built in the late 8th century as a boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms, although some recent research has questioned whether the stretch near Chepstow formed part of the original Dyke.

The Lancaut and Beachley peninsulas, opposite Chepstow, were in Welsh rather than Mercian control at that time, although by the time of the Domesday Book Striguil was assessed as part of Gloucestershire.

After the Norman conquest of England, Chepstow was a key location.

Chepstow Castle was founded by William fitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, in 1067, and its Great Tower, often cited as the oldest surviving stone fortification in Britain, dates from that time or shortly afterwards.

The port of Chepstow developed during the mediaeval period, one reason being that its control by a Marcher Lord, rather than by the King, meant that it was exempt from English taxation.

From mediæval times, Chepstow was the largest port in Wales ; its ships sailed as far as Iceland and Turkey, as well as to France and Portugal, and the town was known for its imports of wine.

Chepstow was given its first charter in 1524, and became part of Monmouthshire when the county was formed.

Chepstow was granted a town charter in 1524 by its Marcher Lord, Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester.

After the county of Monmouth was formed, Chepstow was included within the Hundred of Caldicot in 1542.

Chepstow reached the peak of its importance during the Napoleonic Wars, when its exports of timber, for ships, and bark, for leather tanning, were especially vital.

Through the action, or rather the inaction of the House of Lords, he was spared the death penalty, but he remained a captive, and was in prison at Chepstow Castle when he died some twenty years later.

So when it came to the revolutionary design at Chepstow, The Times of 24 February 1852, reported that “ Mr Stephenson, the eminent engineer, has examined the ( great railway ) bridge ( at Chepstow ) and concurred in the plan adopted by Mr Brunel ...”.

He named it for the beautiful winding River Wye, noted for its sinuosity, whose source is near that of the Severn, rising almost at the summit of Plinhimmon, a mountain in Wales, it forms the boundary between the shores of Brecon and Radnor in South Wales, ere it enters Herefordshire, England, and thence flowing through this county, Ross and Monmouth, falls into the Severn near Chepstow.

One of the specific places mentioned is at Louhai ( Tintern parva, some 6 miles north of Chepstow ), where Maelgwn is claimed as a secular witness to its donation.

Chepstow Castle, situated on a clifftop above the Wye and its bridge, is often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain.

The port of Chepstow became noted in the Middle Ages for its imports of wine, and also became a major centre for the export of timber and bark, from nearby woodland in the Wye valley and Forest of Dean.

Chepstow is also well known for its racecourse, which has hosted the Welsh National each year since 1949.

Chepstow is located on the west bank of the River Wye, some north of its confluence with the Severn estuary.

According to the 2001 Census, Chepstow had relatively high proportions of its population working in the retail and wholesale sectors of the economy ( 19. 6 %, compared with 16. 3 % for Wales as a whole ), property services ( 11. 3 %, compared with 8. 5 % across Wales ), and transport and communications ( 9. 4 % compared with 5. 5 % across Wales ).

Since its heyday as a centre for the " Wye Tour " in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Chepstow has remained an important centre for tourism.

< p > The " Bardsea " of the Pile of Fowdrey was wrecked off Strumble Head on 3 October 1763 laden with a cargo of iron and copper from Wicklow bound for Chepstow under its Master, John Kennel.

Chepstow Castle is situated on a narrow ridge between the limestone cliffs of the river and a valley, known locally as the Dell, to its landward side.

The speed with which William the Conqueror committed to the creation of a castle at Chepstow is testament to its strategic importance.

In its own words, the diocese " covers the south east corner of Wales, from Monmouth south to Chepstow, westwards along the ' M4 corridor ' to Newport and the outskirts of Cardiff, northwards into the south eastern valleys and east into the rural areas around Usk, Raglan, Abergavenny and the Herefordshire border ".

In August that year, the Battalion moved again to its permanent home of Beachley Barracks at Chepstow still under 52 Brigade, whose HQ had departed for Afghanistan.

Brunel's original railway bridge over the Wye at Chepstow, before its 1962 replacement.

The " Great Tubular Bridge " over the River Wye at Chepstow, which at that point forms the boundary between Wales and England, is considered one of Brunel's major achievements, despite its appearance.