The Bell Inn, Bulmore Road, Caerleon

This building dates from the 17th century and was originally a house. Later it was a busy coaching inn, enjoying a strategic position where the road from Chepstow joined the Newport to Usk road.

The building was modified in the 18th century, when its height was probably increased. Further rebuilding was carried out in the early 20th century, when the prominent chimney stack was given its current form.

This area of Caerleon is still known as Ultra Pontem – “beyond the bridge”. It lay across the river from the Roman fortress of Isca. Traders and others who had ancillary connections to the fortress lived in Ultra Pontem, which became a large residential area. The remains of Roman burials have been found a little further north-east along Bulmore Road.

The Bell Inn was a venue for inquests in the 19th century, including that of a baby girl found in the river in 1896. Earlier a policeman had brought her body to the inn. Her post mortem established that she hadn’t been stillborn. A piece of string was tied tightly to her legs. The doctor who examined her body supposed that a weight had been tied to the baby to make her sink.

Another body brought here after being recovered from the river was that of Samuel Smart, in 1873. He was working as a timekeeper for the builders of a new bridge for the Newport, Caerleon & Pontypool Railway. A temporary wooden bridge had been erected across the river for the construction work. Samuel and another worker had been pumping air to a diver in the river when a crane crashed through the temporary bridge, causing both men to drown.

Postcode: NP18 1QQ

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