St John the Baptist church Newport Barnstaple

Newport is an area of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, in the North Devon district, in the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, situated one mile south-east of the historic centre of Barnstaple, between that town and Bishops Tawton, on the east side of the

River Taw The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Bideford Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large ...

. It is now part of the suburbs of Barnstaple. Few ancient buildings survive, the "Old Dairy" being a notable exception.

History

Newport was a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

founded in the late 13th century by a

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

within his manor of Bishops Tawton, to serve as a rival to the river port of Barnstaple, a short distance downstream. A deed dated 1425 seen by

Risdon Risdon is a surname and also a first name, and may refer to: ; Given name * Risdon Beazley (1904–1979), British businessman ; Surname * Dustin Risdon (born 1981), Canadian professional golfer * Elisabeth Risdon (1887–1958) English film act ...

(d.1640) evidences the existence of a mayor of the borough. It came within the administration of the town of Barnstaple in 1836.

Church

A chapel dedicated to St John was in ruins as mentioned by

(d.1640). A

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

(administered by the parish church of Bishops Tawton about one mile to the south) was built in 1820, replaced by the surviving parish church of St John the Baptist in South Street, built in 1883.Pevsner, p.151

References

{{coord, 51.071, -4.046, type:city_region:GB, display=title Populated places in Devon Barnstaple