Vicinity of Redbrook, Monmouth, England

Redbrook was historically an important industrial centre with many industrial sites including mills, an ironworks, tinplate works and copper works. The oldest site is the King's Mill, which was a corn mill first recorded in 1434 and which remained in use until 1925.The Redbrook Copper Works used ore brought from Cornwall via Chepstow and worked until 1740 when it closed down and the buildings were leased for the manufacturer of tinplate. It is from this iron ore that the village got its name - the brook running down the valley through the village often ran dark red. The tinplate factory, run by the Redbrook Tinplate Company, was world famous for the high quality product it made and did not close until 1962. Redbrook was also a river port where the various products of the local industries were shipped.The village once boasted no less than 13 Inns and three breweries. The last brewery to close, in 1926, was Redbrook Brewery and the site is still marked by Brewery Yard and Brewery Terrace.Redbrook was the last station before Monmouth on the Wye Valley Railway. The railway was opened in 1876 to connect Monmouth to the South Wales line, closing to passengers in 1959 and freight in 1964. Today a wood-decked footbridge spans the river which once carried the railway.