Jim Crow Cottage is an early 19th century cottage, built in the picturesque gothic style, that would have originally sat within a rural agricultural landscape but was incorporated into Cwmbran New Town development in the 1950s.

The first reference found to the name of the cottage dates to the Monmouthshire Merlin, 21st July 1849, when the dwelling was owned by a Benjamin Evans. The origin of the name in this particular instance is undocumented, with local hearsay relating that the cottage was named after a seafaring friend of Evan’s. However, by this date ‘Jim Crow’ was a widespread character in musical entertainments, a mocking characterisation of African Americans that originated in the US but is commonly mentioned in newspaper reports within the UK, and the Newport area, in the 1840s/1850s. The name was later given to the laws of racial segregation in southern US states and remained a derogatory term for African Americans into the twentieth century. A nearby woods was also named as 'Jim Crow Woods' on 1st edition OS mapping, and the cottage now sits within 'Jim Crow Square' in the neighbourhood of Croesyceiliog.

The cottage was listed Grade II in September 2020.

S Fielding July 2021

Cwmbran New Town: An Urban Characterisation

Cadw Listed Building Register: 2 Jim Crow Square

Site Record

Jim Crow Cottage, Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran