The Rogerstone Directory - History Articles

“Here, once, there was a castle.”

The most commonly held theory of how Rogerstone was so named seems to be that it was named after Roger de Haia, son of a Norman knight. Roger is believed to be responsible for the building of a castle here in the C12th.

The de Berkerolle family became associated with Rogerstone when Cecilia de Haia, Roger’s daughter, married into the de Berkerolle family. William de Berkerolle, who held jurisdiction of the land surrounding the castle, may be the William from which the welsh name Tre Gwilym is derived. The main road through the village is our only reminder of the Norman history of the area since nothing remains of the castle.

There appears to be very little written information from which to form an idea of the shape or size of the castle. Later information about the Castle Mansion house, built on the castle mound in the C17th, suggests that it was a stone building since some of the south wall of the house was 6 feet thick and believed to be a portion of the ancient castle wall.

Found under the Bassaleg section of early Monmouthshire Trade Directories, Rogerstone is described as “a hamlet, including the village of Tydee, 1½ miles northwest (of Newport) with a station on the Great Western Railway.” It also states “here are the remains of an ancient castle.”

The 1841 census shows Rogerstone was essentially an agricultural district with small pockets of industry at Tydu and Tregwilym. The coming of Nettlefolds to Rogerstone in 1885 was the beginning of the growth of this small village to becoming the sprawling suburb of Newport that it has become today.

The building of the works around the castle site linked the top of Rogerstone (Tydu) to the bottom end of Rogerstone, where many new homes were being built for the workers of Nettlefolds. The gravestones in our local churchyards bear the family names of many of those who walked from Shropshire to begin life in a new community in Rogerstone.

The works expanded, merging with Guest, Keen & Co. in 1902/03 and continued to provide employment in the area until its closure in 1938. However, the castle site, once again became the centre of Rogerstone life when in 1939, with war on the horizon, the Northern Aluminium Company were approached by the Air Ministry to supervise and manage an aluminium sheet and extrusion factory, which became instrumental in the success of the war effort.

Both wars took their toll of lives, in Rogerstone, as anywhere else. An illuminated memorial plaque can be seen in Rogerstone Library, along with a second commemorative plaque listing the names of local people who lost their lives in both world wars.
The villagers always managed to pull together through the hard times. The churches and chapels thrived, and there were plenty of good times to be had at eisteddfod, pageants, and social evenings with the band and choirs. There were also some very successful football and cricket teams, as well as other sporting activities.

Although the village has expanded beyond the boundaries governed by Sir William de Berkerolle, the village atmosphere can still be felt at the annual Remembrance Day Service, when the bands, local youth groups and villagers proudly march up Tregwilym Road to St. John’s Church, and at the recently revived annual Summer Fete, held at the Welfare Grounds.

The village of Rogerstone has continued to grow and thrive, becoming a highly desirable place to live, whilst still proud of its local history.

Article written by Kim Fry
Email: kimfry@tiscali.co.uk

[back]