town, present and historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales, lying along the River Usk 20 miles (32 km) from its Bristol Channel mouth. The town was settled first by Celts and then by Romans, who called it Burrium. A Norman castle was built in the 12th century but was partially destroyed about 1402 during the rebellion of the Welsh prince Owen Glendower (Glendower, Owen). Usk is now a small market town and tourist centre. The River Usk, which flows through the town, rises in the Black Mountain range at the Carmarthenshire-Powys county boundary, in Brecon Beacons National Park. Both the river and the town of Usk are noted for good fishing. Pop. (2001) 2,318.