Newport, Shropshire
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Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Telford town centre, 12 miles (19 km) west of Stafford, and is near the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. The 2001 census recorded 10,814 people living in the town's parish, which rose to 11,387 by the 2011 census.[3]
Toponym
The Normans planned a new town called Novus Burgus roughly on the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Plesc.[4] The first market charter was granted by Henry I, and over time the name changed from Novus Burgus, to Nova Porta, to Newborough and finally to Newport in about 1220.
Location
The site was chosen partly because of its location near the
Newport sits on a
The villages of
Like many rural market towns, Newport was influenced by
Newport's inland location can lead to very cold winters. It holds the record for the lowest temperature recorded in England, −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 11 January 1982.[6] This was cold enough to freeze diesel fuel in vehicles.[citation needed]
History
Newport was located in the
Saxon period
In
Norman to Tudor period
At the time of the
Newport was omitted from the Domesday Book of 1086, but this is not uncommon. Other towns omitted include London, Tamworth and Ludlow, all boroughs since Saxon times.[citation needed]
The Normans planned the new town around the older one during the reign of
Medieval Newport flourished with trade in
The town is mentioned once by John Leland in a list of castles, though now no visible remains of the castle exist; however, the most probable location for it would have been the traditional site of a manor house at Upper Bar, where there is a fragment of a square, broad moat, or on the higher ground along the Forton road, where the Castle House school stands. As regards the moat, nearly square, forming by measurement an area of 60 square yards, two sides have been filled with rubbish. Nothing is known about the occupants of the moated site. It could have pre-dated the town or, perhaps more likely, could have been the manor house of the Audleys, who were granted the manor in 1227. By 1421, the manor house was in ruins.
One of the main reasons for Newport's early wealth was the surrounding fisheries and the chief service of the burgesses, being that of taking fish to the Royal court wherever it might be. This custom was continued after Henry III had granted the borough, with the manor of Edgmond, to Henry de Audley; Henry's son James granted in the middle of the 13th century that the burgesses need not take the fish anywhere except within the county of Shropshire.
The burgesses received certain privileges from Henry I;
Stuart to Regency period
In 1665, many buildings were damaged in the Great Fire of Newport, frontages built on the site of the former Norman plots. This allows the main streets of Newport to be wider and less cluttered than those of the other towns of its age.
Local landed estates
By the 19th century, Newport was surrounded by large estates that came right to the verge of the town, determining size and development. The vivary and open fields at Norbroom had gone making the town dependent on its rural hinterland. The few fields that remained were for hay or cattle, forming a small green belt. These estates exerted a powerful influence on the town, something obvious in the deference shown and respect paid to these landed families until at least the First World War.
Beginning in the southwest of the town was the largest estate, the Lilleshall estate of the Duke of Sutherland. This dates from the dissolution of the monasteries, the lands of Lilleshall Abbey being purchased in 1539 by James Leveson of Wolverhampton.
The next estate is that in the south-east of Woodcote Hall, a smaller one belonging to the Cotes family.
On the west between Lilleshall and the town was the Longford Estate of the Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury, sold in 1789 to Ralph Leake of Wellington who had made his fortune in the East India Company.
North of the town is the Chetwynd Park estate of the Pigotts, bought in 1803 by Thomas Borrow of north Derbyshire who changed his surname to Burton Borough.
The Aqualate Estate to the east lies mostly in Staffordshire.
20th century
The town was fortunate to avoid civilian casualties during the
The passenger service on the
In the 1960s to early 1970s, when the population of Newport was nearer 3000, over a third of the local workforce was employed at Serck Audco Valves, Greenwood Moore, Kwiz Feather Flights etc. All of this industry and large-scale employment has since gone - mostly during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[citation needed]
On 23 November 1981, an F1/T2 tornado which formed over the nearby civil parish of Chetwynd later moved over Newport, causing some damage in the town.[13]
At
Modern-day Newport
Newport is now predominantly a commuter town, with people travelling to Telford, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Wolverhampton and beyond for employment.[citation needed]
Previously, very little
In the spring of 2010, the first stage of the town's £1.5 million regeneration began, with the £250,000 and £300,000 redevelopment of Victoria Park behind the now-defunct The Royal Victoria Hotel.[14] The next stage of the regeneration, which was mainly focused on the High Street area of the town and Central square, involved re-surfacing the High-Street pavements and changing the design of the High Street around the Puleston Cross, removing the cobblestones and replacing them with paving and the traced outline of the ancient market hall.[15][16]
In July 2011, Telford and Wrekin Council unveiled plans for green land off the A518 bypass. The proposals included hundreds of new homes, a new supermarket, a business park and improvements to Burton Borough School.[17]
House prices in the town are the highest in the TF postcode area (including the towns of Telford and Market Drayton) and among the highest in the county.[18]
The town is currently attempting to acquire
]Facilities and places of interest
The High Street
The main street in Newport follows the Norman design. This resulted in the distinctive long wide High Street, split into three parts, upper bar, lower bar and St Mary's street, with the centre of the high street being the 19th-century Town Hall and Market Hall completed in March 1860.[20]
Burgage plots ran along either side, and the church rising up in the middle, with the High Street with St Mary's Street splitting off and re-joining the high street around the island on which are sited the St Nicholas Church and the Puleston Cross (an ancient memorial cross usually known locally but inaccurately as the Butter Cross).
After the fire of Newport in 1665 the old Norman buildings were replaced with grander Georgian architecture, which hid the work yards behind. The Georgian shops remain, but the work yards have now been developed into housing and the Boughey Gardens tennis courts, next to the literary institute.
Newport has retained shops on High Street, Stafford Street and St Mary's Street, with St Mary's Street having
The town also has businesses such as
On the Newport by-pass near to the Aqualate Mere the A518 road there is a small out-of-town industrial estate known as Mere Park, featuring a garden centre, hotel and restaurant. There are also various other small-scale industrial estates that lie around the Newport by-pass and Springfield estate.
Other areas
The oldest man-made landmark in the town is the Puleston Cross which is a butter cross positioned near the Church of St Nicholas. This is a 13th-century cross denoting a marketplace. The cross was set up in memory of Sir Roger de Pyvelesdon (i.e. 'de Puleston') who died in 1272, in Shropshire. This is confirmed in a deed signed by his son Sir Roger de Puleston in 1285, which refers to the cross set up for the soul of Roger de Pyvelesdon who died in 1272.[22]
Towards the top end of the town is the Combat Stress centre, built in 1908 as the infirmary for the Newport Workhouse; it was subsequently developed as accommodation for elderly ladies until its closure in 1995. The home was purchased in 1996 and refurbished.
The town sits near the
-
St Nicholas's Church & Newport war memorial
-
Aqualate lodge to Aqualate Hall
-
Newport junior school, built 1872
Religious sites
The first recorded religious community was documented in Saxon script from 963 AD. This was the church of St Mary Magdalene, built in the time of
Newport lies in the
The second church in the town is the
The ruins of
A smaller church for the
The town has had a wide range of religious sites over time and this is shown in the number of churches in the town, the Independent Chapel, Beaumaris Lane, Newport, built 1803 on the site of a church dating from 1765, converted into cottages in 1832 when they finished work on the new church, the Newport Independent (Congregational) Chapel, Wellington Road, built in 1831, subsequently becoming part of the United Reformed Church. It merged with the Methodist Chapel in Avenue Road in 2001 to become Trinity Church, a joint Methodist/United Reformed Church. A major renovation was undertaken in 2010.
Due to the growth and decline of religions over time some previous churches have since been used for other uses or been demolished altogether, most of these are in the Upper Bar area of the town, around the Granville road and Wellington road area.
Near to the Trinity church is the Newport Primitive Methodist Chapel, built 1877, closed 1920 which replaced the one built in Stafford Road, built 1830. This is still there as a house next door to the New Inn.
Two more former churches are the Newport Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Upper Bar, built 1829, which was turned into a shop and theatre in 1876 and the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Avenue Road which was built in 1876 and closed in 2001 on merging with the Wellington Road URC Chapel; it subsequently became a gym but has since been converted into a house.
Newport General Cemetery was opened for burials on 2 March 1859 with its first interment taking place on 5 March 1859 when it is noted that some 1,000 people witnessed the burial. The cemetery contains a chapel built at the same time and is bounded at the public roadside by fine wrought iron railings and gates. The cemetery was originally laid out with four oval lawns around a cross-shaped set of roads with the chapel centrally placed. Also buried in the cemetery are eleven British Army soldiers of World War I and a soldier and airman of World War II, who are commemorated by a row of Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones.[24][25]
Economy
Newport is the main hub for the farming community along the Shropshire/Staffordshire border and as a local business centre. The Football Association, Medical and Exercise Science Department is based at Lilleshall Hall on the outskirts of the town.
A large section of Newport's economy is based around education, two selective state schools and a large comprehensive drawing students from far beyond the town, as well as a university on the edge of the town along with a regional food academy.
Retail plays a major part of the economy of the town, with the majority of shops being located in and around the High Street, with larger out-of-town stores located on the Audley Avenue and Springfield trading estates in the south of the town and to the east of the town the Mere Park complex.
Culture
Events and venues
Cosy Hall is used for the Newport music festival.[26]
The Newport Guildhall is a medieval timber-framed building which dates back to around 1400.[27]
Town events
The town hosts many events throughout the year, but six main events bring people to Newport. Newport Show is hosted yearly at Chetwynd Deer Park and is the major annual event in the town, first held in Victoria Park in 1890 and now attracting 13,000 visitors each year. The show is now held at Chetwynd Deer Park between Edgmond and Newport.
In the centre of town itself the main events are the Newport Carnival and the Newport Old Tyme Market.[28] The biggest event in the town is the biennial Newport Nocturne Bike Race.[29]
Heart of England in Bloom
In 2009 Newport became the first town in the country to win six gold awards in a row in the Heart of England in Bloom regional competition of the Britain in Bloom contest.[30] The 2010 competition gave Newport its seventh consecutive gold medal.[31]
Media
The town is covered by a local community radio station called NOVA FM, which broadcasts from the high street on 97.5FM, and by regional stations Signal 107, (formerly Telford FM),
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from The Wrekin TV transmitter.[32]
The Newport and Market Drayton Advertiser, is the town's weekly newspaper, in publication since 1854, has premises located on St Mary's Street. The town is also covered by the county-wide Shropshire Star and The Shropshire Magazine. All are published by Shropshire Newspapers Ltd. Nova Magazine, first published in 1994 as Nova News, is a free monthly magazine distributed to Newport, Church Aston, Edgmond, Tibberton, Hinstock, Forton, Sutton, Norbury, Gnosall, Outwoods, Moreton, Sheriffhales, Muxton and Lilleshall.
In the media
Christmas Guisers' Play from Newport, Shropshire [1883] is about the town. Newport was the first town in Shropshire to be on
Education
Newport has a full range of educational establishments, from primary schools to a university. The selective schools in the town are
Infant | Church Aston Infant School · Moorfield Primary School · St Peter & St Paul RC Primary School · Newport Infant School |
Junior | Newport Junior School · Moorfield Junior School. Castle House School |
Comprehensive | Burton Borough School |
Secondary state grammar schools (with sixth form) | Newport Girls' High School & Haberdashers' Adams |
Universities | Harper Adams University |
Transport
The town has been a well-used crossing point even before the creation of the settlement and sits on a historical crossing of the Via Devana.
The town became prominent as a coaching town on the
Before the road network, the canal was the main link to the town. It is not currently connected to the national network, but there are plans to restore it to a fully working canal by the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust. linking into the national canal network at Norbury Junction to the east of the A41 which now borders the town to the east on a north–south by-pass route opened in early 1985 to ease the congestion on the High Street.
The town sits around 9 miles (14 km) from the M54, and 11 miles (18 km) from the M6 Motorways.
Buses
The town is served by buses between Stafford and Telford and a service from Shrewsbury. Arriva Midlands is the main service provider for the town with additional shoppers services operated by Wrekin Rider, the bus operating arm of Telford and Wrekin District Council.
Rail
The former
Cycling
Newport is on
Walking
The town sits on the Way for the Millennium walkway which is 40 miles (64 km) long, and heads toward Stafford, passing through several villages on the way.
Sport and clubs
Newport Town FC play in the
The Newport
Newport Cricket Club plays in the Shropshire Premier Cricket League
On 2009, the £200,000 Newport Sk8 park was formally opened by Princess Anne. The skatepark is the largest in Shropshire and the largest W/ramp in Britain.[citation needed]
265(Chetwynd) Air Training Corps are also based just outside of Newport, on the Chetwynd Deer Park.
Lilleshall Sports Centre
Lilleshall Hall - formerly the country retreat and hunting lodge for the Duke of Sutherland, situated just 2 miles (3.2 km) from the centre of Newport and is now home to Lilleshall National Sports Centre.
Notable residents
Early times
- Robert Puleston, (born in Newport) – brother-in-law and supporter of Owain Glyndŵr, against King Henry IV
- Richard Barnfield (1574 in Norbury, Staffordshire – 1620) – English poet,[40] obscure though close relationship with William Shakespeare, brought up in Edgmond nearby.
- William Adams, (1585 in Newport – 1661) – London Haberdasher founded Haberdashers' Adams in 1656
- Thomas Brown (1662 in Newport or Shifnal – 1704) – satirist[41][42]
1750–1900
- Shropshire Union Railway
- William Ick (1800 in Newport – 1844) English botanist and geologist
- James Brown (1812–1881) – Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1851 to 1881, lived Salter's Hall, near Newport
- Arabella Elizabeth Roupell (1817 in Newport – 1914) – English flower painter
- James Hain Friswell (1825 in Newport – 1878) – English essayist[44] and novelist
- Charles Cecil Cotes (1846 Woodcote Hall – 1898) – British landowner and Liberal politician
- Colonel the Rt. Hon. William Slaney Kenyon-Slaney (1847–1908) – sportsman, soldier and MP for Newport 1886 to 1908
- Percy John Heawood (1861 in Newport – 1955) – British mathematician
- James Edward Quibell, (1867 in Newport – 1935) – Egyptologist
- Frederick Phillips Raynham (1893–1954) – office worker at Harper Adams College and pilot from the early days of aviation
From 1900
- Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 1944 in Newport) – British Conservative MP for Worthing West since 1997
- Ozzy Osbourne (born 1948) - Heavy metal rock singer, owned a bar in St Mary's Street in the late 1970s, run by his then wife Thelma, before selling it two years later. After a closure in 2013 it was revived under name of Ozzy's Sports Bar in his honour.[45]
- Jeremy Corbyn, (born 1949) – Labour MP for Islington North since 1983, Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. Lived as child in Pave Lane and attended Castle House School and Haberdashers' Adams
- North East Milton Keynesfrom 1992 to 1997
- M. J. Bassett (born c. 1965 in Newport) – is an English screenwriter and film director of Solomon Kane
- Michael Beasley (born 1968) - assistant curate at St Nicholas' Church in 1999-2003, later Bishop of Bath and Wells.[46]
- Big Brother 2000 lived in Newport[48]
- Electrical Impedance Tomography, went to school in Newport
- James Sutton (born 1983) – is an English actor, best known for playing John Paul McQueen in Hollyoaks. Lived in Newport[49]
Sport
- Thomas Collins (1841 – 1934 in Newport) – played first-class cricket for Cambridge University from 1861 and 1863 and was headmaster of Newport Grammar School from 1871 to in 1903
- Herbert Denis Edleston Elliott (1887 in Newport – 1973) – English cricketer, played for Essex County Cricket Club
- Reuben (Ben) Jones (1932 in Newport – 1990) – an Olympic equestrian, competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Paul Bracewell, (born 1962) – footballer for England, Newcastle United and Sunderland
- Adam Proudlock, (born 1981) – youth team coach for Newport Town, played for Wolves, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest
- David Pallett (born 1990 in Newport) – English darts player for Professional Darts Corporation, lives in Newport
- Callum Burton (born 1996 in Newport) – English football goalkeeper for Shrewsbury Town F.C.
- Ben Rowlings (born 1996) – British Paralympic athlete who competes in the T34 classification, lives in Newport
Surrounding villages and hamlets
The town is surrounded by many different small villages, ranging from the larger settlements of
The following villages and settlements can be found near Newport:
- Church Aston
- Chetwynd
- Longford
- Edgmond
- Moreton, Staffordshire
- Meretown
- Adeney
- Stockton, Shropshire
- Pave Lane
- Bromstead Heath(Staffordshire)
- Great Chatwell (Staffordshire)
- Gnosall (Staffordshire)
- Forton, (Staffordshire)
- Coley(Staffordshire)
- Outwoods (Staffordshire)
- Wilbrighton(Staffordshire)
- Tibberton
Closest cities, towns and villages
See also
- Listed buildings in Newport, Shropshire
- Shropshire Star Newport Nocturne
- Shrewsbury and Newport Canal
- Newport Show
- Newport (Shropshire) (UK Parliament constituency)
References
- ^ Neal, Toby (17 June 2017). "Has Linda disproved a town's Dickens of a legend?". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Shrewsbury: the Town". SevernVale.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Area: Newport (parish)". Office for National Statistics. ONS. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ 'The Saxon Boundary of Newport',Newport History Society suggested map p.7 (2008)
- ^ "Staffordshire's National Nature Reserves". GOV.UK.
- ^ a b Grintzevitch, Sarah (20 September 2010). "Wild Weather: Shropshire's record-breaking winter". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ Newport History Society, 'The Saxon Boundary of Newport' (2008) and Newport History Society, 'The History of Church Aston Boundary'(2007)'
- ^ Newport History Society, 'The Saxon Boundary of Newport' (2008) p.15
- ^ Newport History Society, 'The Saxon Boundary of Newport' (2008)p11-12
- ^ Prentice 1986, p. 36.
- ISBN 0-304-35385-X.
- ^ a b "The bomb that nearly destroyed Newport". BBC:Shropshire:History:20th Century. November 2005. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "European Severe Weather Database".
- ^ "Newport tourism plans « Shropshire Star".
- ^ "Newport High Street revamp commenced | Wellington News". Archived from the original on 1 October 2013.
- ^ "Newport's old market unearthed during paving works". www.shropshirestar.com. 27 September 2010.
- ^ "Revealed: Massive plans for Newport » Newport Advertiser". Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011. Newport Advertiser - Revealed: massive plans for Newport
- ^ "New homes boosting Shropshire property sales". www.shropshirestar.com. 12 August 2010.
- ^ "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com.
- ^ Historic England. "Former Town Hall (1367292)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Shropshire star".
- ^ Mrs Sunter Harrison of Wrexham - 'The Early Pulestons', Book Two, p.2 (pub. 1975, printed by Herald Printers, Whitchurch, Shropshire)
- ^ Plaque commemorating opening of school is on front wall. Plaque commemorating Infants' annexe is 1898.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link] Shropshire Virtual War Memorial, compiled by Neil Evans.
- CWGC. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Newport Music Festival". 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007.
- ^ Historic England. "Guildhall, Newport (1177807)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Annual Old Tyme Market".
- ^ "Newport Nocturne floodlit cycling race set to return". Shropshire Star. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Newport strikes gold, again!". Newport Advertiser. 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ "Shropshire villages are proud of Heart of England in Bloom success". Shropshire Star. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the The[sic] Wrekin (Telford and Wrekin, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Bogus spy in £1m con given life". The Birmingham Post. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Victims in fear as M15 conman is cleared". London Standard. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "The Spy Who Conned Me (2005)". BFI. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Lines that should reopen - Top 36 | Campaign for Better Transport". 2 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009.
- ^ "Plan unveiled to restore Telford to Stafford rail line". Shropshire Star. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ^ "Work begins to complete cycle route". BBC News. 14 September 2014.
- ^ a b Full Time FA Newport Town
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 03 (11th ed.). 1911. .
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 04 (11th ed.). 1911. .
- ^ "BBC Shropshire - places - Newport Town guide". BBC Home. BBC. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 43. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 20. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ "Bar's name reveals its links to legendary Midlands rocker". Shropshire Star. 16 December 2022. p. 28.Report by Sunil Midda. Part of series "Love Your Local" on Shropshire pubs.
- ^ "Bishop of Bath and Wells: 28 April 2022". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "'MI5 agent' conman jailed for life". The Guardian. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Big Brother winner Craig Phillips keeps it real with £6.9 million fortune". Shropshire Star. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ [2] Shropshire Life Magazine
Bibliography
- Prentice, Rob. A history of Newport. Chichester, Sussex, UK: Phillimore, 1980. ISBN 0 85033 568 X.