CRICKHOWELL  , a

market town of Brecknockshire, Wales, 14 M . E. of Brecon, beautifully situated on the left bank of the Usk, which divides it from Llangattock . Pop . (1901) 1150 . The nearest railway stations are Govilon (5 m.) and Gilwern (4 m.) on the London & North-Western railway, but a mail and passenger motor service running between Abergavenny and Brecon passes through the town . It is also served by the Brecon & Newport Canal, which passes through Llangattock about a mile distant . Agriculture is almost the sole industry of the district . The town derives its name from a British fortress, Crag Hywel, commonly called Table Mountain, about 2 M . N.N.E. of the town . Crickhowell Castle, of which only a tower remains, probably dated from the Norman conquest of the country . The manor of Crickhowell used to be regarded as a borough by prescription, but there is no record of its ever having possessed any municipal institutions . The church is in transitional Decorated style .