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.
The Church of St. Saviour and Redbrook C. of E. School were built and opened in 1874.
The church, by JP Seddon, has a nave with a south porch and chancel. The south chapel and bellcote are red sandstone with buff limestone dressings. The limestone and sandstone mix has been auto-destructive with severe erosion of the sandstone on the north wall and to the limestone on the dressings on the south side. It has however been restored over the last few years. The roof was repaired earlier this year after being awarded a grant in a competitive national scheme.
The Cache
To find the cache, find the answers to the following questions at the posted co-ordinates:
Q1: On the black bench, how many letters in the name of who donated it? = A
Q2: On one of the wooden benches, how many letters in the first name? = B
Q3: How many letters in the second name? = C
Q4: Which position in the alphabet is the initial in the name? = DE
Q5: On the round green plaque high up on the wall by the door, how many years of Domesday heritage? = F00?
The cache can be found at:
N51 47.(F-A)(D+E)0 W002 40.(C-E)(F-C)(B+D)
***Congratulations Coachman's Pair FTF ***
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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