About

Welcome to Shire Hall Museum, a significant historic building in the Heart of Monmouth, South Wales celebrating the history & heritage of Monmouth and the wye Valley.

Shire Hall Museum is open 5 days a week (closed Wednesday and Thursday) from 11am – 4pm. Monmouth Town Council is open for business within the building.

The Shire Hall in Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Wales, is a prominent Grade I listed building in the town centre. Built in 1724, the Shire Hall was formerly the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions for Monmouthshire. In 1839/40, the court was the location of the trial of the Chartist leader John Frost and others for high treason for their part in the Newport Rising. The Shire Hall is owned by Monmouthshire County Council and has audio-visual guides for visitors to Courtroom 1. It is currently used as a Tourist Information Centre and as the offices for Monmouth Town Council, and is open to the public in part.

The large rooms have also become an important part of Monmouth’s vibrant local community and hosts the local youth theatre group, various types of dance lessons, The Wye Valley artists and the Wyedean Embroiderers to name but a few.

Shire Hall was the scene of one of the most significant trials in British history when, in 1839/40, John Frost and other Chartists were tried for their involvement in the Chartist Riots in Newport. Courtroom 1 has been fully restored to how it looked in the 1840s and is fully interactive, allowing visitors to sit in the Judge’s chair and go down to the holding cells to experience first-hand the unpleasant conditions prisoners of the day had been subjected to.