In early November 1839, businessman John Frost led several thousand men from the valleys of Monmouthshire on a march to Newport as part of a campaign for the People's Charter for electoral reform. In the confrontation between the Chartists and troops outside the Westgate Hotel (nprn 21116) in Newport, more than twenty men were shot dead and subsequently more than 250 people were put on trial for treason.
Source: D.J.V.Jones, The Last Rising, 1985.
According to tradition, holes in the porch columns of the present Westgate Hotel were caused by Chartist bullets, but this seems unlikely.
Small groups of bronze figures (nprn 412332), created by Christopher Kelly and representing scenes from the uprising, were erected in the area in front of Westgate Hotel in 1991. On a wall of a multi-storey carpark in the north entrance to John Frost Square is a mosaic mural (nprn 412331) depicting scenes from the uprising. It was created by Kenneth Budd and completed in 1978, containing 200,000 separate pieces of tile.
Source: Newport City Council.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 10 October 2006.