Newport is a suburb of the town of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

in the

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

district of the county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It is situated one mile south-east of the historic centre of Barnstaple, between that town and Bishop's Tawton, on the east side of the River Taw. 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 language, 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 ...

founded in the late 13th century by a

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

within his manor and parish of Bishop's Tawton, to serve as a rival to the river port of Barnstaple, a short distance downstream. A deed dated 1425 seen by Tristram Risdon (d.1640) evidences the existence of a mayor of the borough, but the borough status subsequently lapsed. Newport was brought within the

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

boundaries of Barnstaple in 1836, and was transferred from the parish of Bishop's Tawton to the parish of Barnstaple in 1885.

Church

A chapel dedicated to St John was in ruins as mentioned by Risdon. 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, generally due to trav ...

(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

Populated places in Devon Barnstaple