Pontypool was a little village within old Trevethin parish in the ancient hundred of Abergavenny of the County of Monmouth. In 1690, during the reign of William III and Mary II, the Crown accepted a petition for a market to be established in Pontypool, permitting a weekly market and three annual fairs—the village thus officially became a town. A market hall and assembly rooms were erected in 1730–31, thereby elevating the civic position of the community. During the early eighteenth century, the Hanbury family were also developing their Pontypool Park estate as a permanent family residence. The development of industrial works and employment opportunities near the emerging town also precipitated the building of dwellings along the Afon Lwyd to provide housing for the workforce. Trade and commerce also developed and Pontypool, largely due to the endeavours of the Vaughan family, acquired a strong reputation for clock-making during the eighteenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, a small town had clearly developed, providing employment, housing and a commercial role, also serving as an important local centre for the surrounding hamlets. By the time Archdeacon William Coxe visited Pontypool at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the town had some 250 houses and a number of thriving shops and businesses, catering for a population of approximately 1,500 people.