Newport, Isle Of Wight
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Newport is the
county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
of the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, an island county off the south coast of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, located in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Newport and Carisbrooke Newport and Carisbrooke, formerly just Newport, is a civil parish on the Isle of Wight, in the county of the Isle of Wight, England. The parish includes the settlements of Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport, Carisbrooke, Apesdown, Barton, Isle of Wig ...
. It has a quay at the head of the navigable section of the
River Medina The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tid ...
, which flows northwards to
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
and the
Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...
. The 2021 census recorded a population of 25,407.


History

Mousterian The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and We ...
remains, featuring tools made by
Neanderthals Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
at least 40,000 years ago, were found at Great Pan Farm in the 1970s. There are signs of Roman settlement in the area, which was probably known as ''Medina''. They include two known
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...
s, one of which, Newport Roman Villa, has been excavated and opened to the public. Information on the area resumes after the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. The first charter was granted in the late 12th century. In 1377 an invading French force burnt down much of the town while attempting to take Carisbrooke Castle, then under the command of Sir Hugh Tyrill. A group of Frenchmen were captured and killed, then buried in a tumulus later nicknamed Noddies Hill, a "noddy" being medieval slang for a body. This was later corrupted to Nodehill, the present name for a part of central Newport – a name that seems inappropriate, as the area is flat. In 1648 Charles I and a group of Parliamentary Commissioners concluded the Treaty of Newport, an attempt to reach a compromise in the Civil War that was undermined by Charles's negotiations with the French and Scots to intervene on his behalf. The Treaty was repudiated by
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
upon returning from defeating the Scots at the Battle of Preston. This led to Charles's execution. The town had been incorporated as 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 ...
in 1608. The town's position as an area of trade accessible to the sea meant it rapidly took over from nearby Carisbrooke as the main central settlement, eventually absorbing the latter as a suburb. The borough ceased to exist in 1974 when it was incorporated into the larger Borough of Medina, which was itself superseded in 1995 by a single
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
covering the whole of the Isle of Wight. A school known as the Blue school focusing on the education of poor girls opened in the town in 1761. It closed in 1907. The Drill hall in Newport opened as the headquarters of the Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteers in 1860. Newport since the 1960s has acquired new shopping facilities and a pedestrianised central square. Through road traffic has ceased in many of the narrow streets. Newport Quay has been redeveloped with art galleries such as the Quay Arts Centre, and new flats converted from old warehouses. The Queen Victoria Memorial was designed by local architect Percy Stone (1856–1934). In 2025, Freddy Kalder became the 12th Lord of Haldley and Rowridge, by rightful ownership of the lawful rights to the lordship. These rights are enshrined in the laws of England as incorporeal hereditaments and have been re-established through due legal process by a learned authority within the realm in compliance with the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act of 1925.


Geography

Geographically located in the centre of the Isle of Wight, at 50.701°N, 1.2883°W, Newport is the principal town on the island. It has public transport connections with all the island's major towns. It serves as the island's main shopping centre and location for public services. The main A3020 and A3054 roads converge as Medina Way between the busy roundabouts at Coppins Bridge and St Mary's Hospital. Newport railway station was the hub of the Island's rail network until the mid-20th century, but closed in 1966. The site is now occupied by the dual-carriageway A3020 Medina Way. The nearest city to the town is
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, about north-east on Portsea Island, adjoining the mainland. More locally, Ryde, the island's largest town, is to the north-east. Sandown and
Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, ...
are to the east and
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
to the north. The
River Medina The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tid ...
runs through Newport. North of its confluence with the Lukely Brook at the town's quay, it becomes a navigable tidal estuary. Distance from surrounding settlements *
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
– 4.5 miles, 7 km *
East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. It has a population of 8,428 according to the United Kingdom Census ...
– 5 miles, 8 km * Ryde – 7 miles, 11 km *
Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, ...
– 9 miles, 15 km * Sandown – 10 miles, 16 km *
Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface D ...
– 11 miles, 18 km * Yarmouth, Isle of Wight – 10 miles, 16 km


Prisons

The town's suburb of Parkhurst houses two Category B men's prisons: Parkhurst Prison and Albany. Together they make up HMP Isle of Wight, which is one of the largest prisons in the UK. Parkhurst and Albany were once among the few top-security prisons in the United Kingdom. Camp Hill was another prison in the area, but it closed in 2013.


Amenities

Seaclose Park in Newport, on the east bank of the River Medina, has since 2002 been the location for the revived Isle of Wight Music Festival, which is held once a year. Newport is home to the Postal Museum, possibly the largest private collection of vintage postal equipment and post boxes in the world. Newport bus station is the town's central bus terminus. It acts as the hub of the
Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight, founded in 1921 as Dodson and Campbell. It became the Vectis Bus Company in 1923. The company was purchased by Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. In 1987, the company wa ...
network, with routes from across the Island terminating there.


Sport

St George's Park is the home of Newport Football Club, the most successful of the Island's football teams, currently play in the Wessex League. The stadium has a capacity of 3,000. In 2018, an application was approved unanimously by the Isle of Wight council for a new stadium off the racecourse roundabout near Newport. This will be the new stadium for Newport (IW) F.C., so that St George's Park can be turned into an out-of-town retail area. The town is also represented by Newport Cricket Club, which plays at Victoria recreation ground. Its two teams compete in Harwoods Renault Divisions 1 and 2. The Isle of Wight County Cricket Ground is located at Newclose, on the outskirts of the town.


Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the nearby Rowridge TV transmitter which is situated south west of the town. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent on 96.1 FM, Heart South on 97.5 FM, Capital South on 103.2 FM, Easy Radio South Coast on 107.4 FM,
Nation Radio South Coast Nation Radio South is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting on 106 Hertz, MHz & 106.6 Hertz, MHz FM across the The Solent, South Coast of England, and on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB on the South Hampshire, Bournemouth, Sussex, Sali ...
on 106.0 FM,
Greatest Hits Radio South Greatest Hits Radio South is a regional radio station broadcasting across the South of England, as part of Bauer Radio, Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Coverage The seven local stations broadcast to Salisbury, Dorset, West Sussex, North Ha ...
on 105.2 FM and community based stations: Vectis Radio on 104.6 FM and Isle of Wight Radio on 102.0 FM. The town is served by these local newspapers, '' Isle of Wight County Press'', '' Isle of Wight Observer'' and ''Island Echo''.


Schools

The town of Newport and the adjoining village of Carisbrooke together have seven primary schools, three secondary schools, a sixth-form campus, a further education college and two special schools. The primary schools located close to the town centre are Newport C of E Primary and Nine Acres Community Primary. Barton Primary is on Pan estate, while Summerfields Primary is nearby on the Staplers estate, both to the east of the town. Hunnyhill Primary is situated in Forest Road to the north of the town. There are two primary schools in Carisbrooke: Carisbrooke C of E Primary in Wellington Road and St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary in the High Street, in the village centre. The three secondary schools are Carisbrooke College, Medina College and Christ the King College. Carisbrooke College is located on a large site on the outskirts of Carisbrooke village, whilst Christ the King is just down the road, occupying two former middle school sites on opposite sides of Wellington Road. Medina College is situated to the east of the town, just off Fairlee Road, along with Medina Leisure Centre and Medina Theatre. The Island Innovation VI Form Campus is the joint sixth form for the Carisbrooke and Medina colleges. It is located in the town centre, on the site of the former Nodehill Middle School. The Isle of Wight College stands to the north of the town centre, close to St Mary's Roundabout and the large industrial estate. Medina House School is located between Pan and Staplers, and St Georges School to the south of the town in the suburban Watergate Road.


Governance


Parliamentary representation

From the Middle Ages the Parliamentary Borough of Newport had two seats in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. Between 1807 and 1811 they were held by two future
prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
: Arthur Wellesley, later to become the
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
(who was also elected to two other seats at the same time) and
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
. Palmerston was eligible as an MP because his late father did not convert his Irish peerage into a United Kingdom peerage, which would have confined him to the House of Lords. The local patron arranging the deal was Sir Leonard Holmes, who made it a condition that they never visited the borough. The borough was also represented by two other future prime ministers in the 1820s.
George Canning George Canning (; 11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the U ...
was MP for Newport when appointed Prime Minister in 1827. However, under the law as it then stood, a minister accepting office automatically vacated his seat and had to stand for re-election to the Commons, and Canning chose to stand at Seaford, a government pocket borough in Sussex, rather than fight Newport again. However, in the by-election that followed at Newport, the town elected the Hon. William Lamb, later 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose father had also represented the borough in the 1790s. However, Lamb remained MP for Newport for only two weeks, before also being elected for Bletchingley, which he preferred to represent. Newport's representation in Parliament was cut to one seat in 1867 and abolished altogether as a separate constituency in 1885. It was part of the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
parliamentary constituency until 2024, and now belongs to the Isle of Wight West constituency.


Local council

Newport has had a variety of local government administrations. *Until 1974 Newport had its own local authority, Newport Borough Council, which until 1967 was based at Newport Guildhall. *In 1974–1995 Newport was under Medina Borough Council. *In 1995 this was abolished and the
Isle of Wight Council Isle of Wight Council, known between 1890 and 1995 as Isle of Wight County Council, is the local authority for the Isle of Wight in England. Since 1995 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, being a non-metropolitan cou ...
, based at County Hall, took over responsibility. Newport remained unparished until 2008. *Newport Town Management Committee was established in April 2006 by the
Isle of Wight Council Isle of Wight Council, known between 1890 and 1995 as Isle of Wight County Council, is the local authority for the Isle of Wight in England. Since 1995 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, being a non-metropolitan cou ...
as an interim body for the town until the Government gave approval for a parish or town council. The Management Committee had no formal powers and was technically no more than an advisory committee to the Isle of Wight Council. However, it was treated as a transitional authority, which acted in many ways as a town or parish council. *The first election to Newport Parish Council occurred on 1 May 2008.


Notable people

In birth order: * Sir Thomas Fleming (1544–1613), judge in the trial of
Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...
. * Elizabeth Stuart (1635–1650), daughter of Charles I and
Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...
, is buried at St. Thomas' Church. * Edward Vernon Utterson (1775–1856), lawyer, was one of Six Clerks in Chancery, an
antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
and an editor. * Sarah Elizabeth Utterson (1781–1851), translator and author. * Charlotte Anley (1796–1893), novelist and songwriter, lived in the town in the mid-1820s. * Henry Sewell (1807–1879), First Prime Minister/Premier of New Zealand 7 May to 20 May 1856. * William Buckler (1814–1884), portrait artist and entomologist, was born and lived here, and died in Lumley, near Emsworth. * Maxwell Gray (Mary Gleed Tuttiett, 1846–1923), novelist and poet * Westmore Family, prominent family in Hollywood make-up * Craig Douglas (born 1941), pop singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s *
Geoffrey Hughes Geoffrey Hughes may refer to: * Geoff Hughes (born 1939), Australian tennis player * Geoffrey Hughes (actor) (1944–2012), English actor * Geoffrey Forrest Hughes (1895–1951), Australian aviator and pilot See also * Jeff Hughes (disambiguation) ...
(1944–2012), actor * Tony Howe (born 1939), club steward. *
Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), ...
(1954–2008), film director *
Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''Given name#Name at birth, né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is a retired English stand-up comedy, stand-up and Improv comedy teacher, improv comedian, actor, performance poetry, performance poet, cartoonist and podc ...
(born 1962), comedian * Kelly Sotherton (born 1976), heptathlete * Darren Mew (born 1979), breast-stroke swimmer * Lewis Buxton (born 1983), footballer with
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
* Gary Silk (born 1984), footballer * David Griffiths (born 1985), cricketer * Chris Russell (born 1989), cricketer * Danny Briggs (born 1991), cricketer * Adam Hose (born 1992), cricketer *
Keegan Brown Keegan Brown (born 5 November 1992) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He has won two ranking PDC Players Championship titles. Brown reached the quarter-finals at the 2014 Gran ...
(born 1992), professional darts player


See also

* Church of St John the Baptist * St Paul's Church


Notes


External links


Newport Guide
{{Authority control Towns on the Isle of Wight County towns in England Ports and harbours of the Isle of Wight Former civil parishes in the Isle of Wight