Celebrations of the coronation of King William IV in 1831

And, to mark the occasion festivities were planned to celebrate the event.

On the day, celebrations took place in many areas including the Pontypool area, and in the towns of Monmouth and Abergavenny.

The celebrations at Pontypool

An eight-man committee had been set up to oversee the festivities of the town and the surrounding area.

To begin with, it was decided that illuminations, although important, were an unnecessary expense when the money raised could go to a more worthy cause.

So, it was decided that the illuminations would be scaled back, and the poor of the town and neighbouring villages would get bread and beer instead.

Altogether 500 loaves, each weighing 5lbs, were given to eligible families, and a further 900 cakes were given out to the poor children of the district.

Despite the heavy rain, the official festivities began early in the morning when a canon explosion was heard across the town and the detonations continued at regular intervals throughout the day. The shops were closed too.

At 4pm, 40 gentlemen attended the Lion Inn for a formal dinner, which consisted of normal seasonal fare and rare treats.

Mr E H Phillips overlooked the occasion, and the event included various toasts to the King, Queen, military, church and local dignitaries. In between the toasts, singing entertained the guests. The event continued late into the night.

At nightfall, and despite the heavy rain, a large bonfire was lit on ‘Race Mountain’.

Another huge bonfire was lit on a patch of land around the Blue Boar Field area, and it attracted loads of people. The Market House was another focus of the evening celebrations with several attractions, including fireworks and four barrels of good quality beer being given away. It was reported by a local newspaper that the day was very memorable and that everyone had enjoyed himself or herself.

The celebrations at Monmouth

At the same time, the celebrations in Monmouth got off to an early start too.

Like Pontypool, the celebrations began at sunrise.

The bells of St Mary’s Church started the day by ringing out and they continued to peal at regular intervals throughout the day; they did not stop until well into the night.

Most of the shops had decided to close. While some of the residents also kept the day as a holiday to show their support for the new King and Queen. The town was abuzz. Not only were there the planned festivities, but the militia had arrived in the area, which swelled the numbers on the streets of the town.

In the days leading up to the celebrations, the richer members of the Monmouth area had been asked to donate money into a subscription scheme; the subscription scheme was a way of raising funds.

So, what were the funds for?

The funds were for a celebratory meal for the poor. The affluent members of the town did not want the poorer members missing out on a celebratory feast, so the subscription-scheme fund paid for 1,500 meals. The meal was simple, but a substantial one that consisted of bread and meat.

At 11am a church service occurred, which was attended by the Mayor, bailiffs and other town dignitaries.

And, after which about sixty affluent members of the area ate a formal dinner with wine, which was cooked by Mr Avery, of the Beauford Arms.

The Mayor oversaw the toasts to the King and Queen, the royal family, the military services, and other local dignitaries and clergy.

The event was littered with vocal solos and, with the wine flowing, the diners probably joined in as well. The songs included: ‘The King, God Bless Him’ (performed by Mr Taylor); ‘Twas in the Good Ship, Rover’ (performed by Mr Hawkins) and ‘True Blue’ (performed by Mr Shayle).

At about 9.30pm, those who were still at the formal dinner accompanied the Mayor through the town to see the lights. The lights came from several sources. First, people had placed lights in windows, and some had decorated the area with flowers. Second, firecrackers were set off and rockets lit the night sky, and, adding to the light display, groups of men carried blazing-burning barrels of tar around the town. And third, bonfires had been lit. These fires were around the Market Place, Dixton Gate and the Wye Bridge areas. Monmouth was illuminated in light and good humour to celebrate the King’s coronation.

The celebrations at Abergavenny

Meanwhile, Abergavenny was holding its own celebrations.

Like Monmouth and Pontypool, the poorest residents were not forgotten.

The richer members of the area had given money for 650 people to have a celebratory feast.

The Market House was the venue for the meal. It had been carefully decorated in floral decorations to create a worthy setting for the guests and the occasion; paper would not have been used in any of the decorations.

With everyone sat down at 1.30pm, the carvers cut the first slice of meat and the waiters distributed the food to the guests.

This would have been an unusual experience for nearly everyone in the room, because not only were they having a meal served to them by a waiter, but, and perhaps more significant, the carvers and waiters were none other than a group of distinguished local tradesmen and young wealth men from the area.

The meal consisted of roast beef, plum pudding and an alcoholic drink.

Altogether, the guests ate 620lbs of roast beef, 489lbs of plum pudding and drank through six barrels of Prime Double X - after which blessings and toasts were given in celebration.

To round up the event, the festivities went outside, because the Union Club had organised a procession through the town. With a musical band taking the lead, walkers and banner carriers marched behind. Everyone left full, with a smile and in good humour.

With the official celebrations for the poor concluded, another dinner took place at 4pm at the Town Hall. Tickets cost the sum of 12s 6d and the caterer was Mr G Evans, of the Greyhound Inn. The meal consisted of a main, a dessert and a bottle of wine. The venue, akin to the Market Hall, was decorated in flowers and foliage. At the event there were plenty of toasts, singing and music.

In the evening, the George Inn hosted a ball and supper for more than 100 wealthy members of the area; the event was arranged by Mr John Holehouse, proprietor. Doubtless, there was a live band or small orchestra to accompany the dancing. The main dance area and adjoining rooms would have been decorated with flowers and foliage, and lit up with lights. And, in keeping with supper-table decoration norms, the display of food – especially the desserts – would have been not only a feast for the stomach, but also the eye. The ball finished at 6am on Friday morning.

In all the areas, the festivities seemed to have gone off as planned.

The various towns and areas had marked Coronation Day, and everyone in the community – poor and rich – had celebrated. The day was a community event. Everyone had enjoyed himself or herself. Some people, the following morning, were probably very tired after having danced and celebrated all night. While others were almost certainly nursing a sore head after all the beer and wine.

However, for everyone the Friday morning was another working day, so life returned to normal.