Usk, river, South Wales and Monmouthshire; rises under Talsarn mountain, on border of Carmarthenshire and Brecknockshire, and flows 57 miles E. and SE., past Brecknock, Crickhowell, Abergavenny, Usk, Caerleon, and Newport, to the Bristol Channel, 3¾ miles S. of Newport; practically forms a harbour up to Newport, and is navigable 6½ miles further up to Tredunnock; flows through very fine scenery, and is celebrated for the quality of its salmon; on W. side of entrance, 2¼ miles S. of Newport, is Usk Lighthouse, 57 ft. high, with fixed light 47 ft. above high water and seen 11 miles.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))