Newport Bridge (colloquially called Town Bridge), opened in 1927 across the

River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...

in Newport, connects the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and Clarence Place with Newport Castle and Newport city centre.

The 1800 bridge

The first stone bridge on the site was a bridge of five arches, erected in the year 1800 by David Edwards (son of William Edwards). It was widened and improved in 1866 by adding footpaths on both sides.Peter Brown
Newport's Town Bridge: A Brief History
NewportPast.com The original foundation stone bearing the inscription "This bridge was erected at the expense of the County by David Edwards and his two sons William and Thomas. Completed AD MDCCC." is now set into the stonework of Caerleon Bridge.

Paddle steamers

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

on the bridge erected by Newport Civic Society commemorates the Newport harbour commissioners landing stage and states "

Paddle steamers A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

of P&A Campbell's famous white funnel fleet regularly sailed from near this point. Opened in the 1880s, extended in the mid 1890s and closed in the 1950s".

Harry Houdini

On 5 March 1913 the famous escape artist

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

jumped off Newport Bridge with his hands manacled and his feet shackled. He had been turned back by police but caught a taxi cab across the bridge and entered from the opposite side. He was arrested the following week by the police for obstructing a public highway and for holding a public entertainment on the bridge.

The new bridge

In 1911 the Town Council sought designs for a new replacement bridge. In December 1923 a decision was made to proceed immediately with the construction of the new bridge, partly as a scheme to find work for the unemployed. To best achieve this a temporary wooden bridge was erected alongside it and all power and gas lines were re-routed onto it. Even the town's tram lines and their accompanying overhead power system were moved over. The old bridge was then demolished and the new one erected. On 22 June 1927 the new bridge was complete and opened to traffic by the Transport Minister

Wilfrid Ashley Colonel Wilfrid William Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple, PC DL (13 September 1867 – 3 July 1939) was a British soldier and Conservative politician. He was Minister of Transport between 1924 and 1929 under Stanley Baldwin. Background and edu ...

The stone cherubs

On four of its pillars the new bridge has a stone

cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

, painted in gold, and shield, modelled after the coat of arms of Newport. In 1994 John Squire, guitarist of

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

, designed the cover of the band's single " Love Spreads", basing it on a photograph of a stone cherub and shield on Newport Bridge. The song was the band's biggest selling single, reaching number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The cherub design found its way onto many pieces of merchandise for ''

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

'', the album from which "Love Spreads" was taken, and the designed also featured in the CD itself in monochrome.

References

External links

{{City of Newport Bridges in Newport, Wales Bridges completed in 1927 Landmarks in Newport, Wales Road bridges in Wales History of Newport, Wales Bridges over the River Usk Bridges completed in 1800