There is a lot to see in Monmouth. It’s a town that boasts 2,000 years of uninterrupted development. It was a Roman garrison from the 1st century until 400 AD, a Celtic settlement until the Norman invasion and ruled by Breton lords until 1256. Details of these periods of the town’s history are illustrated in the Castle Museum. Henry V, whose statue stands high on the front of the Shire Hall, was born in Monmouth Castle in 1387. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he exercised some control over Owen Glendower, the Welshman whose armies were a constant harassment to the English along the border. The Monnow Bridge Gate is the only surviving example in Britain of a medieval system for guarding walled towns. Built in the 14th century, the Gate was an outer defence to the main town walls, with a portcullis and sentried ramparts guarding the access to the main thoroughfare, Monnow Street. Monmouth was also the birthplace of Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls Royce and also the first man to fly an aeroplane across the English Channel.