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Newport, Monmouthshire

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NPRN300110
Map ReferenceST38NW
Grid ReferenceST3101088330
Unitary (Local) AuthorityNewport
Old CountyMonmouthshire
CommunityStow Hill
Type Of SiteCITY
PeriodMultiperiod
Description
According to tradition, Newport developed following St. Gwynllyw's foundation of a church at the top of Stow Hill in the late fifth or early sixth century, though there is no evidence to support this claim. It appears that there was a Welsh settlement, with some Saxon influences, on the site by the tenth century, and following the Norman Conquest of England Robert de Hay is believed to be responsible for the construction of the motte on Stow Hill around which the town grew at the lowest point on the River Usk. Newport Castle (NPRN 93389) was completed in the mid- to late-fourteenth century, and a town charter of 1427 confirmed its status as a market town which controlled the river crossing.
Newport remained little changed until the eighteenth century, when the coal industry began to increase exponentially, and the town rapidly grew into the largest town in Wales, dependent upon its inland dock complex (nprn 91413). The opening of the Monmouthshire Canal in 1799, made Newport docks the outlet for all iron and coal production of the Monmouthshire Valleys of Ebbw, Sirhowy and Afon Llwyd. In 1839 the town was the site of the Chartist Riots (NPRN 405003), in which 20 people were killed and many more injured.
Newport remained an important trading centre, and the nineteenth century saw the completion of the Town Hall (NPRN 32010), Market Hall (NPRN 31986) and Assembly Rooms (NPRN 31973).
The presence of the docks made Newport an important target for enemy bombers during World War Two. Although not attacked with the same intensity as Swansea or Cardiff, the town suffered several hundred air raids, starting in June 1940. The most serious raids were probably those at the end of May and the beginning of July 1941 which caused the greatest loss of life and heaviest damage.
The town was made a city in 2002 and is now a centre of technology and industry. It is also noted for the medieval ship (NPRN 307059) which was retrieved from the river and is currently undergoing conservation and research.
Source: A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of South East Wales, AIA, 2003
RCAHMW, 21 January 2010.
Resources
DownloadTypeSourceDescription
application/pdfFAPA - Foundations Archaeology Projects ArchiveReport of an Archaeological Evaluation at Land at The Green, Wellfield Road, Marshfield, carried out by Foundations Archaeology in 2005. Reference: GWR05.
application/pdfCA - Cotswold Archaeology Projects ArchiveArchive report relating to Queensway Meadows, Newport. Produced by Cotswold Archaeology, Project No. 1526; Site Code QMM03.
application/vnd.ms-excelAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesArchive metadata form for project archive ref no P2579 relating to archaeological work at Commercial Street, Newport, Gwent, carried out by Archaeology Wales, 2018.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesAB Heritage report "123-129 Commercial Street, Newport Historic Environment Desk Based Assessment" 12 August 2016.
application/pdfCA - Cotswold Archaeology Projects ArchiveFull report of watching brief.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from an Archaeological Watching Brief of Stephenson Street, Newport. Dated 2019. Report no: 1787. Project code: 2705.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from a Desk Based Assessment and site visit of Stephenson Street, Newport. Dated 2015. Report no: 1788. Project code: 2705.
application/mswordDSC - RCAHMW Digital Survey CollectionAnnotated digital copy of a historic map of Newport, 1835.
application/mswordDSC - RCAHMW Digital Survey CollectionAnnotated digital copy of a historic map of Newport, 1837.
application/mswordDSC - RCAHMW Digital Survey CollectionAnnotated digital copy of a historic map of Newport, 1923.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesContext inventory from project archive ref no P2579 relating to archaeological work at Commercial Street, Newport, Gwent, carried out by Archaeology Wales, 2018.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesArchaeology Wales Report No 1671 "123-129 Commercial Street, Newport, Gwent. Archaeological Watching Brief" prepared by Dan Moore, April 2018.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from a Desk Based Assessment and site visit of Stephenson Street, Newport. Dated 2015. Report no: 1872. Project code: 2705.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from an Archaeological Watching Brief of Stephenson Street, Newport. Dated 2020. Report no: 1927. Project code: 2705.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from an Archaeological Watching Brief of Usk Way, Newport. Dated 2021. Report no: 1979. Project code: 2908.
application/pdfAWP - Archaeology Wales Project ArchivesReport from an Archaeological Watching Brief of the site of the former King Hotel, Somerton Road, Newport. Dated 2019. Report no: 1834. Project code: 2624.