Newport, Shropshire, England
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Newport is a constituent market town in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies north of Telford, west of
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
, and is near the Shropshire-
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
border. The 2001 census recorded 10,814 people living in the town's parish, which rose to 11,387 by the 2011 census.


Toponym

The Normans planned a new town called Novus Burgus roughly on the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
settlement of Plesc. 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 Via Devana (
Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
, which ran from Colchester to
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
), and partly because of the number of
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
(which are mentioned in the Domesday Survey). The
River Meese The River Meese is a river, located in Shropshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Tern, itself a tributary of the River Severn. The river is only known as the Meese below Aqualate Mere, but its source lies considerably higher via the ...
, which flows from Aqualate Mere, lies to the north of the town. Newport sits on a sandstone ridge on the eastern border of the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
and west of the Aqualate Mere, the largest natural lake in the English Midlands. The area around it at the end of the last ice age was part of Lake Lapworth. Formed from melting glaciers, it covered a vast area of north Shropshire. There is evidence of pre-historic fishing in the area as two ancient log boats were uncovered from Newport. One has been preserved and is kept at Harper Adams University at Edgmond. The villages of
Church Aston Church Aston is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,354. It is to the south of Newport, though has become merged with the town in recent years due to suburban growth. Also ...
, Chetwynd and
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
are adjoined to the south of Newport, though they remain in separate parishes. The village of Edgmond is located just to the west, separated by Cheney Hill, Chetwynd Park and the currently truncated
Shrewsbury and Newport Canal The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...
. Like many rural market towns, Newport was influenced by industry; it served the needs of the mining area to the east of Shropshire and was also affected by mass-produced industrial goods that replaced traditional crafts. Newport's inland location can lead to very cold winters. It holds the record for the lowest temperature recorded in England, on 11 January 1982. This was cold enough to freeze diesel fuel in vehicles.


History

Newport was located in the historic kingdom of Mercia, near where
Wreocensæte The Wreocensæte ( ang, Wrēocensǣte, Wrōcensǣte, Wrōcesǣte, Wōcensǣte, italic=no), sometimes anglicized as the Wrekinsets, were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Their name approximates to "Wrekin-dwellers". It is also suggested ...
was once situated. Humans inhabited the surrounding area long before the creation of the town. Once established, Newport became a market town in the centre of the rural farming area between
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
and
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
.


Saxon period

In
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
times, there were two settlements in the area. The first, ''Eastun'', has been identified as
Church Aston Church Aston is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,354. It is to the south of Newport, though has become merged with the town in recent years due to suburban growth. Also ...
, and the second was ''Plaesc'' which is now Newport. In AD 963, Plaesc was described as having a High Street, a stone quarry, and a religious community. The name Plaesc means a shallow pool. Few signs of the Saxon settlement exist today, apart from the High Street, the Quarry, which could be either the Quarry on Stafford Road, or the Hole Meadow on Wellington Road. This has not been definitely confirmed.


Norman period

At the time of the Norman Conquest, the land where Newport sits formed part of the manor of Edgmond, which William I gave as a gift along with the county of Shropshire to Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I founded the borough, first called Newborough, after the manor came into his hands from
Robert de Belesme The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...
. Newport was omitted from the Domesday Book of 1086, but this is not uncommon. Other towns omitted include London, Tamworth,
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...
and Ludlow, all boroughs since Saxon times. The Normans planned the new town around the older one during the reign of Henry I. The wide main street was designed for its market, and the narrow burgage plots running at right angles to it are typical of Norman architecture and planning, though today only Newport Guildhall and Smallwood Lodge are clear signs of Tudor buildings, due to the 1665 fire which destroyed most of the High Street. Medieval Newport flourished with trade in leather, wool and fish. Novoportans possessed the right to provide fish for the Royal table. The many
half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
buildings surviving from the late medieval and Tudor periods confirm Newport's success, leading to the first market charter which was granted by Henry I. The town is mentioned once by John Leland in a list of
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s, 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; Henry II, in an undated charter, granted them all the liberties, rights and customs that they had enjoyed in the time of Henry I, including a guild merchant, which is mentioned in the '' quo warranto'' rolls as one of the
privileges Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...
claimed by the burgesses. Confirmation charters were granted by
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
in 1287 and
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
in 1311, while the town was incorporated in 1551 by Edward VI, whose charter was confirmed by James I in 1604. The governing body consisted of a Lord High Steward, deputy steward, two water-bailiffs and 28 burgesses, but the corporation was abolished by the Municipal Corporation Act of 1883, and a Local Board was formed, which, under the Local Government Act 1894, gave place to an urban district council.


Regency period

In 1665, many buildings were damaged in the Great Fire of Newport, and only a few of the medieval structures remain. However, there remain many fine Regency and Georgian 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.


Edwardian period

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 Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...
. 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 Woodcote Hall is a nursing home situated on the edge of Newport, Shropshire, England, on the Staffordshire border. House It was until the early 20th century the seat of the Cotes family, and already by 1752 to have been set in well-established ...
, 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 The Chetwynd Park estate lies in the small village of Chetwynd on the outskirts of the town of Newport, Shropshire, England. The estate is positioned in a gap north of Newport, where the road having crossed the marshland, clings to a steep slope ...
of the
Pigotts Piggotts, also known as St Mark's Village, is a small township in Saint George Parish on Antigua island in Antigua and Barbuda. It had a population of 1,478 in 2001. It is located in the north of the island, to the east of the capital city of S ...
, 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 Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
.


20th century

The town was fortunate to avoid civilian casualties during the Second World War when on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
1944, a V-1 flying bomb launched from a Heinkel bomber and aimed at Manchester landed in a field east of Newport, about 300 yards from the Newport to Gnosall road. This bomb is now on display at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. The passenger service on the railway line between Stafford and Wellington was withdrawn in 1964 as a result of the
Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
, and the line closed completely in 1967. The track was lifted soon afterwards, and the Newport end was subsequently redeveloped for housing. 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. 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. At
Harper Adams University College Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, Shropshire, Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provi ...
just outside Newport in Edgmond, on 11 January 1982 the English lowest temperature weather record was broken (and is kept to this day): .


Modern-day Newport

Newport is now predominantly a commuter town, with people travelling to Telford, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Wolverhampton and beyond for employment. Previously, very little redevelopment happened in Newport from the 1960s—attention going instead to nearby towns including Wellington and Oakengates, which make up the new town of Telford—until the Telford and Wrekin Council borough towns incentive was brought about in 2007. The town received major investments over the following years, including a major redevelopment of the canal and surrounding area, the lower bar of the High Street area, planned housing, bars and restaurants set to line the canal. New sporting facilities, including a climbing wall in the Springfield's area of the town, were provided. In the spring of 2010, the first stage of the town's £1.5million regeneration began, with the £250,000 and £300,000 redevelopment of Victoria Park behind the now-defunct
The Royal Victoria Hotel The Royal Victoria Hotel is a former hotel situated in Newport, Shropshire. It dates back to 1830 and gains its name from Queen Victoria, who as Princess Victoria of Kent visited the hotel in 1832 and who gifted the hotel with a pair of tortoise ...
. 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 The Puleston Cross is a Butter cross in the market town of Newport, in the Telford and Wrekin district, in the cereminial county of Shropshire, England. The Cross sits in Middle Row, formerly Rotten Row, and denotes the market place. The cross wa ...
, removing the cobblestones and replacing them with paving and the traced outline of the 1850s market hall. 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. 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. The town is currently attempting to acquire Transition Towns and Fairtrade Town statuses.


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 Newport Town and Market Hall completed in March 1860, with an Italianate frontage. This replaced an earlier building that was demolished due to fire. 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 Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
, 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
cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
s and the majority of shops being small boutiques. St Mary's is also the site of various markets and fairs which tie in with Newport's indoor market. The town also has businesses such as Costa Coffee, Boots,
M&Co M&Co Trading Limited, previously Mackays Stores Limited until its 2020 administration, (previously trading as Mackays, now trading as M&Co.) is a Scottish chain store selling women's, men's, and children's clothes, as well as small homeware p ...
,
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
, Greggs, Coral, Bet365, the town's former
Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
store was developed into a
B&M Bargains B&M European Value Retail S.A., trading as B&M, is a British-Luxembourg variety store chain founded in 1978 and incorporated in Luxembourg. It employs over 32,000 people. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the F ...
. 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 The Puleston Cross is a Butter cross in the market town of Newport, in the Telford and Wrekin district, in the cereminial county of Shropshire, England. The Cross sits in Middle Row, formerly Rotten Row, and denotes the market place. The cross wa ...
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''. Towards the top end of the town is the Combat Stress centre, built in 1908 as the
infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization ...
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 Aqualate Mere, which is the largest natural lake in the English Midlands. File:St nicolas church Newport.jpg, St Nicholas's Church & Newport war memorial File:Aqualate mere gatehouse.JPG, Aqualate lodge to
Aqualate Hall Aqualate Hall, a 20th-century country house, is located in Forton, Staffordshire, England, some east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire and west of the county town of Stafford. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The site o ...
File:Sdleeepyds.JPG, 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 Archbishop Dunstan. Newport lies in the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury and as a Norman-planned new town, religion played a strong part in the design of the town, with the centre of the town being dominated by St Nicholas Church, originally built in the reign of Henry I and restored in 1886 and 1890. The second church in the town is the St Peter and Paul Catholic church in Newport Salters Lane, built 1857 and the oldest Catholic church in Shropshire, designed by Augustus Pugin. The ruins of Lilleshall Abbey are from the town centre. They include a Norman west door and part of the front, considerable remains of the church besides, and traces of domestic buildings. The abbey was founded in 1145, under charter from King Stephen, by Richard de Baumes or Belmeis, dean of St Alkmund, Shrewsbury, for Augustinian canons, who were brought from Dorchester Abbey,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. A smaller church for the Baptist community sits at the back of
The Royal Victoria Hotel The Royal Victoria Hotel is a former hotel situated in Newport, Shropshire. It dates back to 1830 and gains its name from Queen Victoria, who as Princess Victoria of Kent visited the hotel in 1832 and who gifted the hotel with a pair of tortoise ...
in water lane, called Newport Baptist church, which was built in the 1960s. 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 becom
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.


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. The Newport Guildhall is a medieval timber-framed building which dates back to around 1400.


Town events

The town hosts many events throughout the year, but six main events bring people to Newport.
Newport Show Newport Show is held at Chetwynd Deer Park at Chetwynd, Shropshire, England, between Newport and Edgmond. History On 24 August 1889, a circular was sent out by Mr W H Burton, Chairman of Furber and Burton Auctioneers (later to become Davies ...
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. The biggest event in the town is the biennial
Newport Nocturne The Shropshire Star Newport Nocturne is Britain's first flood lit road bicycle race and is biennially held in Newport, Shropshire. The race was first run in 1970 at a distance of . The race was first run as a night race under flood lights in 1989 ...
Bike Race.


Britain in Bloom

In 2009 Newport became the first town in the country to win six gold awards in a row in the Britain in Bloom contest. The 2010 competition, wherein it won more points than any town in the United Kingdom gave Newport its seventh consecutive gold medal.


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 107.7, (formerly Telford FM), Free Radio, (formerly Beacon Radio), and
BBC Radio Shropshire BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC's local radio station serving Shropshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Boscobel Drive in Shrewsbury. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 61,00 ...
. 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 Church Aston is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,354. It is to the south of Newport, though has become merged with the town in recent years due to suburban growth. Also ...
, Edgmond, Tibberton, Hinstock, Forton, Sutton, Norbury, Gnosall, Outwoods, Moreton, Sheriffhales, Muxton and Lilleshall.


In the media

Christmas Guisers' Play from Newport, Shropshire 883is about the town. Newport was the first town in Shropshire to be on ''
Dickinson's Real Deal ''Dickinson's Real Deal'' is a UK modern antiques and collectables television programme that is broadcast on ITV and presented by David Dickinson. A US version of the show, produced by Zodiak USA and titled simply '' Real Deal'', was aired for ...
''. A television documentary called ''The Spy Who Stole My Life'' showed the town as the backdrop of the
Robert Hendy-Freegard Robert Hendy-Freegard (born Robert Freegard, 1 March 1971) is a British convicted confidence trick, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent while working as a barman and car salesman. He is also known as David Hendy and David Clifto ...
story, who conned students from the town was shown by Channel Five on 7 September 2005. In Australia, this was called ''The spy Who Conned Me''. The town is supposedly haunted by a ghost, Madam Pigott.


Education

Newport has a full range of educational establishments, from primary schools to a university. The selective schools in the town are Newport Girls' High School and Haberdashers' Adams (previously known as Adams' Grammar School). Harper Adams University is located in the nearby village of Edgmond, and Keele University operates teaching rooms in the doctor's
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
for trainee student doctors. For Further Education students, the closest colleges to the town are Telford College of Arts and Technology and
Stafford College Stafford College is a large provider of further and higher education based in Stafford, England. The college campus is on Earl Street in Stafford Town Centre. Qualifications taught include a wide range of A-levels, with additional choice offered ...
, with Buses running from the town to both colleges and to Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology. Just outside the town is Edgmond Hall, used by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council for outdoor activities for school students.


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 Mail coach route between London, North Wales and Ireland as well being on a historic junction on the road from London to
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
and the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
. This meant that the town grew around the different roads that cross the town. At the centre of the town is a large island with the church of St. Nicholas at one end and Central Square nightclub at the other, the High Street on one side and St Mary's Street on the other side. The two streets come together at one end in front of the nightclub at the junction with the A518 from Stafford which runs through the town on an east–west route from Stafford to Telford. They come together at the other end by the truncated
Shrewsbury and Newport Canal The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...
beyond which is the junction with the
A519 road The A519 is a road in the Midlands, United Kingdom. Route It that runs between Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire and Newport, Shropshire. At Newport it meets the A518 and A41. It heads broadly north, passing via Eccleshall, junction ...
from Eccleshall and Stoke-on-Trent. At the southern end of the High Street is another junction where the
A519 road The A519 is a road in the Midlands, United Kingdom. Route It that runs between Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire and Newport, Shropshire. At Newport it meets the A518 and A41. It heads broadly north, passing via Eccleshall, junction ...
leaves on its way to Telford. 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 Norbury Junction () is a hamlet and former canal junction which lies about to the south east of Norbury, in Staffordshire, England. It opened in 1835, and closed in 1944, although the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal still runs through i ...
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 from the M54, and 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 Stafford to Shrewsbury Line once ran through the town, but due to cuts Newport (Salop) railway station was closed in September 1964 and has now been dismantled. The line has been restored to Hortonwood, and it is possible that the next phase could be to reconnect the town to the railway network. This has been given a boost by the town council, who are currently in talks with
Stafford Borough Council Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in the ...
to discuss the link to Stafford. The line is in the top 36 'Lines that should reopen' listing published by the Campaign for Better Transport, and with the Telford International Freight Park in Donnington, Telford needing better connections to the east coast and Scotland, this could mean a line going past the town and on towards Gnosall and Stafford.


Cycling

Newport is on National Route 55 and Regional Route 75 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network. Cycle maps for these routes are available from the Newport Visitor Information centre, located in the Pop Up Shop on Wellington Road. The cycleway to Stafford runs on the former railway line and will be completed by the end of 2014.


Walking

The town sits on the Way for the Millennium walkway which is long, and heads toward Stafford, passing through several villages on the way.


Sport and clubs

Newport Town FC play in the West Midlands (Regional) League (Division Two)Full Time FA
Newport Town
and have a reserve side ("Edgmond Rangers") who play in the
Mercian Regional Football League The Shropshire Premier League was an English association football league based in the county of Shropshire. It was formed as the Mercian Regional Football League for the 2012–13 season, with all member clubs of the dissolved Shropshire Cou ...
(Division Two). Newport Town were the league champions of the Shropshire County Premier Football League for the 2011–12 season, earning them promotion. Since promotion in 2012, the senior team now plays its home games at
Harper Adams University College Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, Shropshire, Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provi ...
in Edgmond and the reserve team also play in Edgmond. Previously they played their home games at Shuker Field, a field close to the Burton Borough School in Newport itself. The Newport Crown Green Bowls club plays in the Premier Division of Shropshire after promotion from the Mid Shropshire division one as well as many other division and leagues. Newport (Salop) Rugby Union Football Club is the highest-ranked rugby club in Shropshire, and the main club in the town Newport
Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Club plays in the Shropshire Premier Cricket League Premier Division. 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. 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 Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...
, situated just from the centre of Newport and is now home to Lilleshall National Sports Centre.


Notable residents


Early times

*
Robert Puleston Robert Puleston was a brother-in-law and supporter of Owain Glyndŵr, at the time of his rebellion against King Henry IV of England in the early 15th century and afterwards. Lineage He was from a well established Welsh Marcher family. Pulest ...
, (born in Newport) – brother-in-law and supporter of
Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
, against King Henry IV * Richard Barnfield (1574 in
Norbury, Staffordshire Norbury is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Stafford, in west Staffordshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 371. It is situated close to the Shropshire border, approximately north-east of Newport, just ...
– 1620) – English poet, 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


1750–1900

* John Meeson Parsons (1798 in Newport – 1870) – art collector and director of the
Shropshire Union Railway The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...
* William Ick (1800 in Newport – 1844) English botanist and geologist *
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
(1812–1881) – Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1851 to 1881, lived Salter's Hall, near Newport *
Arabella Elizabeth Roupell Arabella Elizabeth Roupell (23 March 1817 Newport, Shropshire – 31 July 1914 Swallowfield, Berkshire) was an English flower painter, noted for an anonymous set of flower paintings published in 1849 under the title 'Specimens of the flora o ...
(1817 in Newport – 1914) – English flower painter *
James Hain Friswell James Hain Friswell (8 May 1825 – 12 March 1878) was an English essayist and novelist. He was born at Newport, Shropshire, son of William Friswell, of 93 Wimpole Street, London, attorney-at-law, and educated at Apsley School, near Woburn, B ...
(1825 in Newport – 1878) – English essayist and novelist * 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 * 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 Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
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 Worthing West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 creation by Sir Peter Bottomley, a Conservative, who is the Father of the House of Commons. Boundaries *Worthing wards: Castle, Central, Dur ...
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. * 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 Castle House School is an independent preparatory day school for boys and girls, first established in 1944, at Chetwynd End, Newport, Shropshire.
and Haberdashers' Adams * Peter Butler (born 1951 in Newport) – British Conservative MP for North East Milton Keynes from 1992 to 1997 *
M. J. Bassett M. J. Bassett (born Michael J. Bassett) is a British film and television writer, director, and producer. She began her career directing the cult film, cult horror films ''Deathwatch (2002 film), Deathwatch'' (2002) and ''Wilderness (2006 film), ...
(born c. 1965 in Newport) – is an English screenwriter and film director of
Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in al ...
*
Robert Hendy-Freegard Robert Hendy-Freegard (born Robert Freegard, 1 March 1971) is a British convicted confidence trick, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent while working as a barman and car salesman. He is also known as David Hendy and David Clifto ...
, (born 1971) – barman in Newport, conman, impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent * Craig Phillips, (born 1971) – winner of ''Big Brother'' 2000 lived in Newport *
Stuart Meeson Stuart Meeson (born 1972) is a physicist who having done research in Electrical Impedance Tomography and Mammography has been working in Computed Tomography (CT) with the Radiology Group of the University of Oxford. Areas of particular interest i ...
(born 1972 in Newport) – physicist in 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
Shropshire Life Magazine


Sport

* Herbert Elliott, Herbert Denis Edleston Elliott (1887 in Newport – 1973) – English cricketer, played for
Essex County Cricket Club Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when ...
* Reuben (Ben) Jones (1932 in Newport – 1990) – an Olympic equestrian, competed in the
1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
* Paul Bracewell, (born 1962) – footballer for England,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
*
Adam Proudlock Adam David Proudlock (born 9 May 1981) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. Proudlock played as a striker from 1998 to 2015. He started his career in the Football League with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1998; he w ...
, (born 1981) – youth team coach for Newport Town, played for Wolves, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest * David Pallett (born 1990) – English darts player for
Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...
lives in Newport * Callum Burton (born 1996 in Newport) – English football goalkeeper for Shrewsbury Town F.C. *
Ben Rowlings Ben Rowlings (born 2 May 1996) is a British Paralympic athlete who competes in sprint and middle-distance events in the T34 classification. Personal history Rowlings was born in Shrewsbury, England in 1996. He was delivered with the umbilical ...
(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 Edgmond and Lilleshall to smaller hamlets all of which are joined to the town or separated only by a small distance. Most of these settlements are seen as parts of the town's catchment zone. Due to Newport's proximity to the county border, a number include Newport in their postal address, despite being situated in Staffordshire. The following villages and settlements can be found near Newport: *
Church Aston Church Aston is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,354. It is to the south of Newport, though has become merged with the town in recent years due to suburban growth. Also ...
* Chetwynd *
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
* Edgmond *
Moreton, Staffordshire Moreton is a small rural village in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, near the border with Shropshire. It lies south-west from the former site of Gnosall railway station, and south-east from Newport, both on the Stafford an ...
* Meretown * Adeney *
Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...
, Shropshire * Pave Lane *
Bromstead Heath Moreton is a small rural village in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, near the border with Shropshire. It lies south-west from the former site of Gnosall railway station, and south-east from Newport, both on the Stafford and ...
(Staffordshire) *
Great Chatwell Great Chatwell is a small village within the civil parish of Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard, in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the border with Shropshire, around north-west of Blymhill. The name presuma ...
(Staffordshire) * Forton, (Staffordshire) * Coley (Staffordshire) *
Outwoods Outwoods may refer to the following places in England: * Outwoods, East Staffordshire, Staffordshire *Outwoods, Leicestershire The Outwoods is a ancient wood and visitor attraction overlooking Loughborough and the Soar Valley in Leicestershire, ...
(Staffordshire) *
Wilbrighton Moreton is a small rural village in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, near the border with Shropshire. It lies south-west from the former site of Gnosall railway station, and south-east from Newport, both on the Stafford an ...
(Staffordshire) * Tibberton


Closest cities, towns and villages


See also

*
Listed buildings in Newport, Shropshire Newport is a civil parish in the district of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It contains 106 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, four are at Grade II*, the middle of the thr ...
* Shropshire Star Newport Nocturne *
Shrewsbury and Newport Canal The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...
*
Newport Show Newport Show is held at Chetwynd Deer Park at Chetwynd, Shropshire, England, between Newport and Edgmond. History On 24 August 1889, a circular was sent out by Mr W H Burton, Chairman of Furber and Burton Auctioneers (later to become Davies ...
* Newport (Shropshire) (UK Parliament constituency)


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Newport Town Council

Newport Shropshire online information portal
{{authority control Market towns in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Tourist attractions in Shropshire Populated places established in the 12th century Towns in Shropshire Reportedly haunted locations in West Midlands (region)