Langstone is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Newport, Wales. The community had a population of 4,730 in 2019.

Location

Langstone is situated on the eastern edge of the city and is one of Newport's more affluent areas, less than a mile from Junction 24 of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

. Some of the ward is hilly and heavily forested. It is bounded to the north and east by the city boundary, to the west by the

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

ward, and to the south-west by the Coldra and

Llanwern Llanwern is a village and community in the eastern part of the city of Newport, South East Wales. The name may be translated as "the church among the grove of the alders". Location and populace Llanwern is bounded by the M4 and Langstone t ...

wards.

Development

The original village was a small linear settlement along the

A48 A48 may refer to: * A48 motorway (France), a road connecting the A43 and Grenoble * A48 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Gloucester, England and Carmarthen, Wales * Autovía A-48, a motorway under construction connecting Cadiz and Algecira ...

(Chepstow Road) and its offshoot, Tregarn Road. Since the 1990s, many have moved to the area because of its appeal as being rural, but also minutes away from the M4 motorway. This population influx resulted in the construction of a large housing development at the bottom of Catsash Road, together with developments of housing estates, big and small, along Tregarn Road and Magor Road. The community contains the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

s of

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and Community (Wales), community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. In 2011 the community had a population of 645. History Ancient ...

, Llandevaud and Llanmartin as well as Langstone itself.

History

The actual village of Langstone (excluding the adjoining villages of

Penhow Penhow () is a small village, historic parish and Community (Wales), community just inside the eastern edge of the boundary of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, within the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Monmouthsh ...

- Parc Seymour,

Llanvaches Llanvaches () is a village and community within the boundaries of the city of Newport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. The population rose to 402 by the ...

, Llandevaud, Llanbedr and Llanmartin) in 1801 had 126 inhabitants. By 1901 the population had risen to 206. The

United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...

recorded the population as 3,905 people. In 1891 Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire noted that Llanbedr was a hamlet, one and a half miles north-east of the parish, on the road from Newport to Chepstow. It then had some remains of a church, which were then in agricultural use. In July 2018, after a long period of warm dry weather, crop marks of a prehistoric or Roman farm near the village were revealed. The site was recorded by the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

(RCAHMW) before it disappeared again with the next rains. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

dates from the 13th century. It was extended in both the 16th and 17th centuries, and restored in 1907. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It is part of the Netherwent Ministry Area. It has no known patron saint.

Scheduled monuments

The following Scheduled ancient monuments are in the Langstone community: * Kemeys Inferior Motte,

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

* Pen-toppen-ash prehistoric earthworks and possibly Roman

marching camp ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

* Caer Licyn * Pencoed Castle * Langstone Villa moated site * Langstone Mound and Bailey Castle - discovered in 1964 during construction of the

. * A

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

south of Stock Wood * All Saints' Church, Kemeys Inferior * St Curig's chapel (remains of), Catsash * Moated site south west of Court Farm * Moated site south west of Pencoed Castle Both Pencoed Castle and

Penhow Castle Penhow Castle, Penhow, Newport dates from the early 12th century. Extended and reconstructed in almost every century since, it has been claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited castle in Wales. The castle is a Grade II* listed building. H ...

fall within the ward boundaries of Langstone. Penhow Castle is privately owned. The area is also home to Penhow Quarry, owned by

Hanson plc Heidelberg Materials UK is a British-based building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Previously known as Hanson UK, the company has been a subsidiary of the German company HeidelbergCement since August 2007, and was formerly lis ...

Governance

The Member of Parliament for Newport East, which includes Langstone, is

Jessica Morden Jessica Elizabeth Morden (born 29 May 1968) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport East since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she was General Secretary of Welsh Labour from 1999 until her election to Parli ...

( Labour) who assumed office in 2005. The

Member of the Senedd A member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; ; , plural: ) is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd constituency, Senedd constituencies, a ...

for Newport East is John Griffiths, who assumed office in 1999. Since May 2022 Langstone has been part of the 'Bishton and Langstone'

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

, which elects two councillors to

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. ...

. The 2022 election resulted in the election of two

Conservative (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. The party sits on the centre-right to right- ...

councillors to represent the ward. A ward called Langstone existed until 2022, which also covered the communities of

and

(ward population 2,770).

Amenities

Langstone Primary School celebrated its 50th birthday in 2004, and currently has about 300 pupils. Until the 1970s the school intake stretched as far as Nash,

Goldcliff Goldcliff () is a village, parish and community to the south east of the city of Newport in South Wales. It lies within the Newport city boundaries in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Administratively, ...

Whitson Whitson is a village on the outskirts of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales. It is located about south-east of Newport city centre on the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, Caldicot Levels, a large area of coastal land reclaimed from ...

, Bishton and Llandevaud. The school is now serving simply Langstone and its surrounds. Pupils receiving a

Welsh-medium education Welsh-medium education () is a form of education in Wales in which pupils are taught primarily through the medium of Welsh. The aim of Welsh-medium education is to achieve fluency in both Welsh and English. All children over the age of seven ...

have the Welsh-medium in Newport as their local school.

References

External links

Photos of Langstone and surrounding areas
Geograph
Ysgol Gymraeg Casnewydd website
{{authority control Communities in Newport, Wales Villages in Newport, Wales