Whitson
Whitson | |
---|---|
St. Mary's Church | |
Location within Newport | |
Population | 339 (2001 census, combined with Goldcliff[1]) |
Principal area | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NEWPORT |
Postcode district | NP18 |
Dialling code | 01633 Maindee exchange |
Police | Gwent |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Whitson is a village on the outskirts of the city of
Origin of the name
Sir Joseph Bradney, in his History of Monmouthshire (1922), is undecided on the derivation of the name of the manor and surrounding village, but notes early spellings such as Witston, Widson and Wyttston. It seems most likely, however, that the name came from "Whitestone", similar to the adjacent "Goldcliff". In 1358 the manor was held "...by John de Saint Maur of Penhow of Peter de Cusance by knight service, as of his manor of Langstone". In the 18th and 19th centuries the Phillips family owned a large estate in the parish and lived at what was then called "Whitson House" (now "Whitson Court").
Character
Together with the neighbouring larger parishes of Nash and Goldcliff it is one of the so-called "Three Parishes" which have long been treated as a unit – geographically, socially, economically and ecclesiastically.
At high-tide much of the land in the village is below sea-level. A main drainage ditch, with an origin near Llanwern, known as "Monksditch" or "Goldcliff Pill"[a] passes through the village on its way to the sea.[2] Local folklore maintains that the sides of the Monksditch are laced with smuggler's brandy.
The layout of the village has the houses and farmsteads reflects a
History
The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) describes the village as "a parish in the lower division of Caldicott Hundred, county Monmouth, 6 miles S.E. of Newport" and says, "The land is partly in common. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Llandaff value £180, in the alternate patronage of the Chapter of Llandaff and the Provost of Eton College. The church is said to have belonged to Portown, a place now swallowed up by the sea."[5] Kelly's Directory of 1901 lists the Parish Clerk as one William Roberts and sub-postmaster as one Richard Keyte. Two private dwellings are listed for a Mr. St. John Knox Richards Phillips J.P. at Whitson Court and for Reverend John Price of St.Bees (vicar of Whitson & Goldcliff) at the Vicarage.[6]
Commercial residents are listed as:
- Henry Gale, farmer, Church Farm;
- John Hale, farmer, Whitson Farm;
- Mrs Charlotte Howells, farmer, Whitson Green;
- Thomas James, Newhouse;
- Edward Jones, stonemason;
- Robert Roberts, farmer;
- John Keyte, farmer, Chestnut Tree Farm;
- Richard Keyte, carpenter, wheelwright & post office;
- Edgar Morgan, farmer, Court Farm;
- John Waters, farmer, Green Court;
- Charles Webb, farmer.
The Rev. Henry Morgan reports the story of Eve, daughter of the Whitson postmaster, who died at The Farmer's Arms in
Architecture
Church of St Mary
The
Prior to the 20th century the nave was restored and the chancel rebuilt. There is a Norman font and a stained glass memorial east window erected in 1884 by the family of Reverend John Beynon. The register of baptisms dates from 1744, marriages from 1729 and burials from 1728. In 1901 the living was a vicarage with a net income of £196, including 49 acres (20 ha) of glebe and residence, in the gift of Eton College and the Dean and Chapter of Llandaff alternately, and held from 1900 by the Reverend John Price.
Bradney (1933) notes the church as "remarkable for its fine tower with a pinnacle at one corner."[4] The church closed, as it was a very poor state of repair, and was placed on the council's register for Buildings at Risk.[citation needed] The churchyard, which is well maintained, may still be accessed by means of a public footpath through private land.[10] In November 2018 it was stated that plans to convert the church to a private residence were likely to be rejected because of flood risk. Concerns were also raised over a stained glass window, dedicated to the memory of Herbert and Alice Stevens, paid for by their 14 children.[11] In 2021, planning permission to convert the church into residential accommodation was granted by Newport City Council.[12] The church was sold at auction in February 2022.[13]
Whitson Court
Whitson Court is a
Monumental inscriptions at Whitson Church indicate that the house was called Whitson House from at least 1789 and for most of the 19th century, but had become Whitson Court by 1903. Memorial stones for the Phillips family may also be found in St. Mary's church in the neighbouring
"This order of nuns existence is precarious, for they are not permitted to open a school. Their days are spent in prayer, adoration, and the making of altar-breads, vestments, and church ornaments." In 1910 the left pavilion wing, which was used as the estate laundry, was partially destroyed by fire.
In March 1911, the Sacramentines were permitted by
Following the death of Garroway Smith in the late 1950s, the house and grounds passed to his niece, Olive Maybury who made various alterations to the house, adding three neo-classical plaster relief panels to the fire surround in the morning room, an ornately carved fire surround in the former kitchen and the replacement of the dilapidated spiral staircase to the top floor of the house, with a Gothic secondary staircase, removed from Plas LLecha at Tredunnock. The family collected exotic animals including Bornean Sun Bears, Himalayan Bears, lions and a large collection of monkeys, reptiles and exotic birds. The family opened the grounds to the public during the 1960s and 1970s and they were a popular attraction for local families and school children.
In 1980 Whitson Zoo was closed and the animals re-homed. Olive Maybury continued to live at Whitson Court until her death in 1998 at the age of 99. The house and grounds were subsequently sold by the family and were again left empty, being placed on Newport Council's "Buildings at Risk" register in 2009.[19] The court was subsequently sold and has now been restored, with advice from Cadw.[20]
Whitehall Farm/Redbrick House
This property is situated in the neighbouring parish of
Amenities
The
Upfield Farm Aerodrome
In 1995 a light aircraft landing strip (council approved for use as a grass strip for the owner, family and friends) had been developed by the owner. By 2008 the strip had become a 650 metres (2,130 ft)-long concrete
Government
The area is governed by the Newport City Council and the Goldcliff community council. The village falls within the Llanwern ward of the Newport East parliamentary constituency.
See also
References
This article contains public domain material from J. A. Bradney's History of Monmouthshire (1904).
- ^ Office for National Statistics Parish Headcounts: Goldcliff Community (Whitson combined)
- ^ "Road, reen and pylons near Whitson Sub... (C) Ruth Sharville :: Geograph Britain and Ireland". Geograph.org.uk. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Rippon, Stephen J. (February 1996). "A land shaped by generations past". British Archaeology (11).
- ^ a b Bradney, Sir Joseph. A History of Monmouthshire, Vol 4 Part 2: The Hundred of Caldicot (Part 2), published 1933, reprinted 1994, Merton Priory Press.
- ^ "Whitson". genuki.org.uk. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "KELLY'S DIRECTORY OF MONMOUTHSHIRE, 1901". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Goldcliff & Whitson at visitoruk.com From: The Gwent Village Book, Gwent Federation of Women's Institutes, published by Countryside Books.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ Hando, F.J., (1958) "Out and About in Monmouthshire", R. H. Johns, Newport.
- ^ "The approach to Whitson parish church". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "Plans for medieval church could be rejected by Newport council over flooding concerns". South Wales Argus.
- ^ Dan Barnes, "Whitson Church to be auctioned despite flooding concerns", The National, 16 January 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022
- ^ https://paulfosh.eigonlineauctions.com/lot/details/59441
- ^ "Whitson Court". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "KELLY'S DIRECTORY OF MONMOUTHSHIRE, 1901". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament". Newadvent.org. 1 February 1911. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ John Weston. "Whitson Court". Data Wales. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "Register of Buildings at Risk Through Neglect and Decay in the City of Newport" (PDF). July 2009.
- ^ "DESIGN & ACCESS STATEMENT FOR ALTERATIONS & REFURBISHMENT OF WHITSON COURT, WHITSON, NEWPORT NP18 2AY" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "Farfields Farmhouse Bed And Breakfast, Farfields Farm, Lockton, Pickering, YO18 7NQ". www.a1tourism.com.
- ^ "Whitson Sub Station". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "Changes to 63 Wetlands Service from Monday 23rd March 2015". Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Two escape light aircraft crash". BBC Wales. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
- ^ "Airfield concrete runway must go". BBC Wales. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "Whitson airstrip appeal dismissed (From South Wales Argus)". Southwalesargus.co.uk. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
Notes
- Glamorganshire coasts, meaning an inlet or haven off the River Severn or Bristol Channel