Bettws ( cy, Betws) is a large modern

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

, electoral ward and coterminous

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

(parish) of the city of Newport, South Wales.

Etymology

The name of the village comes from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

word ''bedhus'', meaning "prayer house", which became ''betws'' in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

.Welsh Place Names Dictionary
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Infrastructure

The housing estate was built in the 1960s, and the large majority of houses are identical in plan and design. The roads in the estate are all named after rivers. 51.8% of housing is privately owned, and 42.6% is rented from either the

Newport City Council Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards. The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...

or local

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

s, such as Charter Housing. In 2009 Newport City Council transferred ownership of their social housing and most of the land they owned in the area to Newport City Homes, a housing association. The estate was built around the 17th-century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St David in Bettws, which is the likely origin of the name 'Bettws', a place of prayer or private chapel. St David's is a grade two

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is currently in need of a £40,000 renovation. John Frost, who led Chartist protests in Newport for universal suffrage in the 1830s (the

Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartism, Chartist sympathisers, under ...

), is alleged to have married Mary Geach at the church. The ward is bounded by Malpas to the east, the city boundary with

Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-w ...

to the north,

Rogerstone Rogerstone ( cy, Tŷ du, meaning "Black house") is a large village and community (parish) in Newport, Wales. The area is governed by Newport City Council. The village falls within the ancient parish of Bassaleg and historic county of Monmout ...

to the west, and the M4 motorway and Allt-yr-yn to the south.

Sport and Leisure

In recent years it has benefited greatly from the introduction of sporting facilities such as new football pitches. Bettws RFC is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team playing in the

WRU Division Five East The Welsh Rugby Union Division Five East (also called the SWALEC Division Five East for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition format and sponsorship Competition There are 11 clubs in the WRU Division Five East. Dur ...

. Malpas Civil Service F.C. is a football team located in Bettws playing in the Gwent County Football League, Division 1. Malpas Cricket Club is also situated on Bettws Lane in Bettws.

Elections

In the 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner election, held on 15 November 2012, a polling station at Malpas Cricket Club recorded no votes from the 8,737 voters. Bettws is an electoral ward to

References

External links