Chepstow - Notable People

Notable People

Further information: Category:People from Chepstow

Chepstow was the birthplace of the fraudster and "Popish Plot" informer William Bedloe (1650–1680), and of the physician and satirist James Davis (1706/07–1755). James Stephens (1821–1889), a stonemason who was a supporter of the Chartists and later an influential Australian trade unionist, was born in the town, as was Sir Herbert Isambard Owen (1857–1927), a nephew of Isambard Kingdom Brunel who became an academic and a leading figure in the formation of the University of Wales. The entomologist Eleanor Anne Ormerod (1828–1901) was born at nearby Sedbury Park, the house owned by her father, the antiquary George Ormerod.

H.E. Fulford, born in Chepstow in 1859 of Australian parents, joined the British Foreign Service and for several decades occupied important consular posts in China.

Able Seaman William Charles Williams (1880–1915), who was born in Shropshire but raised in Chepstow, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in World War I. A captured gun from a German submarine was presented to the town to mark his bravery, and stands in the town's main square beside the War Memorial. The neo-Baroque War Memorial itself was designed by local architect Eric Francis (1887–1976), who was also responsible for several notable country houses in the area.

Sportsmen born in the town have included Surrey and Middlesex cricketer Ted Pooley (1842–1907); Eddie Parris (1911–1971), the first black player to play international football for Wales; Olympic gold medal winning show jumper Richard Meade (born 1936); and two more Wales international footballers, Ollie Burton (born 1941) and Paul Parry (born 1980). In the field of entertainment, locally born figures have included Grant Nicholas (born 1967) of the band Feeder, who grew up in the neighbouring village of Pwllmeyric, and film and television actor Owain Yeoman (born 1978), star of The Mentalist.

The writer J. K. Rowling (born 1965), author of the Harry Potter books, lived in the adjoining village of Tutshill from the age of 9, and attended secondary school at Wyedean School.