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Newport is a city and principal area in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, located roughly between Cardiff and Bristol, it is the cultural capital and largest urban area in the historic county of Monmouthshire and is governed by the unitary Newport City Council. The population of Newport is 140,100, making it the third most populous city in Wales. According to Census 2001 data the population of the core built-up area was 116,143.
See also :Category:History of Newport
River Usk at Newport has always proved an attractive place to make a home.
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Encyclopedia
Newport is a city and principal area in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, located roughly between Cardiff and Bristol, it is the cultural capital and largest urban area in the historic county of Monmouthshire and is governed by the unitary Newport City Council. The population of Newport is 140,100, making it the third most populous city in Wales. According to Census 2001 data the population of the core built-up area was 116,143.
History
- See also :Category:History of Newport
Origins
The River Usk at Newport has always proved an attractive place to make a home. Bronze Age fishermen settled around its fertile estuary and later the Celtic Silures built hillforts overlooking it. In AD 75, on the very edge of their empire, the Roman legions built a Roman fort at Caerleon to defend the river crossing. According to legend, in the late 5th century St. Woolos Church was founded by St. Gwynllyw, the patron saint of Newport and King of Gwynllwg. The church was certainly in existence by the 9th century and today has become St. Woolos Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. The Normans arrived from around 1088–1093 to build Newport Castle and river crossing downstream and the first Norman Lord of Newport was Robert Fitzhamon.
The settlement of 'Newport' is first mentioned as novo burgus established by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1126. The name was derived from the original Latin name Novus Burgus, meaning new borough or new town. The city can sometimes be found labelled as Newport-on-Usk on old maps. The Welsh language name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg means 'New castle-on-Usk' (this is a shortened version of Castell Newydd ar Wysg) and this refers to the twelfth-century castle ruins near the city centre. The original Newport Castle was a small Motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite St. Woolos Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible.
Around the settlement, the new town grew to become Newport, and was granted a charter by Hugh, Earl of Stafford in 1385. In the 14th century friars came to Newport where they built an isolation hospital for infectious diseases. After its closure the hospital lived on in the place name "Spitty Fields" (a corruption of ysbytty, the Welsh for hospital). "Austin Friars" also remains a street name in the city.
In 1402 Rhys Gethin, General for Owain Glyndwr, forcibly took Newport Castle together with those at Cardiff, Llandaff, Abergavenny, Caerphilly, Caerleon and Usk. During the raid the town of Newport was badly burned and St. Woolos church destroyed.
A second charter establishing the right of the town to run its own market and commerce came from Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1426. By 1521 Newport was described as having "....a good haven coming into it, well occupied with small crays [merchant ships] where a very great ship may resort and have good harbour." Trade was thriving with the nearby ports of Bristol and Bridgewater and industries included leather tanning, soap making and starch making. The town's craftsmen included bakers, butchers, brewers, carpenters and blacksmiths. A further charter was granted by James I in 1623.
In 1648 Oliver Cromwell's troops camped overnight on Christchurch Hill overlooking the town before their attack on the castle the next day. A cannon-ball dug up from a garden in nearby Summerhill Avenue, dating from this time, now rests in Newport Museum.
Industrial Revolution
As the Industrial Revolution took off in Britain in the 19th century, the South Wales Valleys became key suppliers of coal from the South Wales coalfield, and iron: these were transported down local rivers and the new canals to ports such as Newport, and Newport Docks grew rapidly as a result. Newport became one of the largest towns in Wales and the focus for the new industrial eastern valleys of South Wales. By 1830 Newport was Wales' leading coal port, and until the 1850s it was larger than Cardiff.
Newport was the focal point of a major Chartist uprising in 1839, where John Frost and 3,000 other Chartists marched on the Westgate Hotel at the centre of the town. The march was met with an attack by militia, called to the town by the Mayor: at least 20 marchers were killed and were later buried in churchyard. John Frost was sentenced to death for treason, but was this was later commuted to transportion to Australia. He returned to Britain (but not to Newport) later in his life. John Frost Square, in the centre of the city, is named in his honour.
Newport probably had a Welsh-speaking majority until the 1830s, but with a large influx of migrants from England and Ireland over the following decades, the town became seen as "un-Welsh", a view compounded by ambiguity about the status of Monmouthshire. In the 19th century, the St George Society of Newport asserted that town was part of England, and it was in Newport that the Cymru Fydd movement received its death blow in 1896, at a fractious meeting where Lloyd George was told that the "Englishmen" of South Wales would never submit to "the domination of Welsh ideas". In 1922 Lloyd George was to suffer a further blow in Newport, when the Conservative capture of the recently-created Newport constituency in a by-election helped lead to the end of his coalition government.
The late 19th and early 20th century period was a boom time for Newport. The population was expanding rapidly and the town became a county borough in 1891. The dock system was completed in 1892: the newly-built South Dock was the largest masonry dock in the world. Although coal exports from Newport were by now modest compared to the Port of Cardiff (which included Cardiff, Penarth and Barry), Newport was the place where the Miners' Federation of Great Britain was founded in 1889, and international trade was sufficiently large for 8 consuls and 14 vice-consuls to be based in the town. Urban expansion took in Pillgwenlly and Liswerry to the south; this eventually necessitated a new crossing of the river Usk, which was provided by the Transporter Bridge completed in 1906, described as "Newport's greatest treasure".
The Modern Era
The Foundation Stone for the Newport YMCA was laid by Viscount Tredegar on 25 February 1909 . The building is now a Wetherspoons pub named "The Tom Toya Lewis" after the 12-year-old paper boy who helped to save dock workers when the dock wall collapsed on 2 July 1909 .
Compared to many Welsh towns, Newport's economy had a broad base, with foundries, engineering works, a cattle market and shops that served much of Monmouthshire. However, the docks were in decline even before the Great Depression, and local unemployment peaked at 34.7% in 1930: high, but not as bad as the levels seen in the mining towns of the South Wales Valleys, and despite the economic conditions, the town corporation re-housed over half the population in the 1920s and 30s.
The post-war years saw renewed prosperity in the town, with St. Woolo's Cathedral attaining full cathedral status in 1949, the opening of the modern integrated steelworks at Llanwern in 1962, and the construction of the Severn Bridge and local sections of the M4 motorway in the late 1960s, making Newport the best-connected place in Wales. Although employment at Llanwern declined in the 1980s, the town acquired a range of new public sector employers, and a Richard Rogers-designed Inmos factory helped to establish Newport as a 'hotspot' for technology companies. A flourishing local music scene in the early 1990s led to claims that the town was "a new Seattle".
The county borough of Newport was granted city status in 2002 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. In the same year, an unusually large merchant ship, referred to locally as the Newport ship, was uncovered and rescued from the bank of the Usk during the construction of the Riverfront Arts Centre. The ship has been dated to some time between 1445 and 1469 and it remains the only vessel of its type from this period yet discovered anywhere in the world.
Key dates in Newport's history
- 1140: The first early Norman wooden motte and bailey castle is built on Stow Hill.
- 1402: Town attacked by the forces of Owain Glyndwr, rebel Prince of Wales: St. Woolos Cathedral destroyed.
- 1672: Tredegar House completed.
- 1796: Opening of the Monmouthshire canal.
- 1842: Town Dock at Newport Docks opens – able to accommodate the largest ships in the world.
- 1871: W. H. Davies, renowned poet born at Portland Street, Pillgwenlly.
- 1877: Athletic grounds at Rodney Parade opens.
- 1887: The Boys Brigade movement in Wales founded by George Philip Reynolds at Havelock Street Presbyterian Church.
- 1894: Belle Vue Park opens.
- 1906: Transporter Bridge opens on 12 September.
- 1937: King George VI visits Newport and cuts first sod of new Civic Centre building.
- 1949: St. Woolos attains full cathedral status.
- 2002: Newport Unlimited regeneration company set up to transform the city.
Governance
Newport has long been the largest town in the historic county of Monmouthshire and became a unitary authority in 1996, although it was also a county borough between 1891 and 1974. The City of Newport is divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Newport West and Newport East. These two parliamentary constituencies cover a similar area to that of the City area controlled by Newport City Council. The city formerly had only one constituency until 1983 when the city was split into Newport West and East due to population growth.
The city is traditionally industrialised with a large working-class population and a strong support for the Labour party, but the Conservatives have a significant minority especially in the more middle-class areas in the west. There has been a sharp increase in the numbers of Liberal Democrat voters in recent elections. In the 2005 general election, the Liberal Democrats pushed the Conservatives into third place in Newport East with Labour still holding on to a sizeable majority but in Newport West the Conservatives gained a sizeable swing on Labour's lead, with a significantly reduced majority. Labour also suffered in the local elections in 2008, losing control of the council to a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
Coat of arms
Newport City Council's coat of arms is unusual for two reasons. Firstly, it places a cherub above the shield of arms; secondly, one of the supporters is a winged sea lion - Newport was the first authority to use this rare heraldic device. In 1929 Newport obtained a grant to use the armorial bearings which, in fact, it had already been using for some time - certainly since 1835. This is a gold shield with a red chevron in reverse; the shield is ensigned by a cherub. The shield is that of the Staffords, Earls and Dukes of Buckingham, lords of the Manor of Newport in the 14th and 15th centuries - but the reversed chevron marks the difference between these Borough Arms and those of the family.
In 1957 it was decided to petition the Earl Marshal for the supporters which all Boroughs are entitled to possess. A year later the College of Arms granted this request and a winged sea dragon and a winged sea lion were brought into use. These supporters represent strength on land, sea and in the air. The motto Terra Marique was adopted at the same time and means 'By land and sea'.
The official description of the armorial bearings are: "(arms) or, a chevron reversed gules, the shield ensigned by a cherub proper. Supporters: on the dexter side a winged sea lion or, and on the sinister side a sea dragon gules, the nether parts of both proper, finned gold."
Freedom of the City
The title of Freedom of the City is a ceremonial honour, given by the city council to those who have served in some exceptional capacity, or upon any whom the City wishes to bestow an honour. Recipients include (in chronological order):
Geography
The city is largely low-lying, but with a few hilly areas. Areas in the south and east of the city tend to be flat and fertile with some housing estates and industrial areas reclaimed from marshland. Areas such as Caerleon, near the banks of the River Usk are also low-lying. The eastern outskirts of the city are characterised by the gently rolling hills of the Vale of Usk. There is a ridge of higher land known as Ridgeway running through the city with good views of surrounding areas.
The suburbs of the city have grown outwards from the inner-city, mainly near the main roads, giving the suburban sprawl of the city an irregular shape. Several out-of-town shopping centres have been built to cater for the needs of these suburbs. Such centres have large free car parks and are seen as more convenient than travelling several miles to shop in the city centre. The urban area is continuing to expand rapidly with new housing estates continuing to be built.
Divisions and districts
See also :Category:Districts of Newport
The city is divided into 20 wards. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. Each community can have an elected council. The following table lists city council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*':
| Ward | Communities (Parishes) | Other geographic areas | | Allt-yr-yn | Allt-yr-yn | Ridgeway, Barrack Hill, Glasllwch, Gold Tops | | Alway | Alway | Somerton, Lawrence Hill | | Beechwood | Beechwood | Eveswell | | Bettws | Bettws | | Caerleon | Caerleon | Christchurch, Bulmore, The Village | | Gaer | Gaer | Maesglas, Stelvio, St. Davids | | Graig | Graig* | Rhiwderin, Bassaleg, Lower Machen, Pentre Poeth, Fox Hill | | Langstone | Langstone*, Llanvaches*, Penhow* | Llanmartin, Parc Seymour, Wentwood Forest, Coed-y-caerau, Cat's Ash, Kemys, Coldra, Llanbedr | | Llanwern | Bishton, Goldcliff*, Llanwern*, Redwick* | Underwood, Whitson, Uskmouth, Summerleaze, Wilcrick, Saltmarsh, Milton, Porton | | Liswerry | Liswerry, Nash* | Broadmead Park, Moorland Park, Broadstreet Common | | Malpas | Malpas | | Marshfield | Coedkernew*, Marshfield*, Michaelstone-y-Fedw*, Wentloog* | Castleton, St. Brides, Blacktown, Peterstone | | Pillgwenlly | Pillgwenlly | Level of Mendalgief | | Ringland | Ringland | Bishpool, Treberth, Coldra | | Rogerstone | Rogerstone* | High Cross, Cefn Wood, Croesllanfro, Mount Pleasant | | Shaftesbury | Shaftesbury | Brynglas, Crindau, Marshes, Blaen-y-pant | | St. Julian's | St. Julian's | East Usk, Barnardtown | | Stow Hill | Stow Hill | St. Woolos, Baneswell, City centre | | Tredegar Park | Tredegar Park | Duffryn | | Victoria | Victoria | Maindee, Summerhill |
Climate
Newport has a moderate temperate climate, with the weather rarely staying the same for more than a few days at a time. The city is one of the warmer and sunnier locations in the UK and its sheltered location tends to protect it from extreme weather. Like the whole of the British Isles, Newport benefits from the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Newport has warm summers and cool winters.
Thunderstorms may occur intermittently at any time of year, but are most common throughout late-spring and summer. Rain falls throughout the year, Atlantic storms give significant rainfall in the autumn, these gradually becoming rarer towards the end of winter. Autumn and summer have often been the wettest seasons in recent times. Snow falls nearly every winter and usually settles on the ground several times, but it is often light and usually melts immediately or after a few days. Newport records few days with gales compared to most of Wales, again due to its sheltered location. Frosts are common from November to April.
On 20 March 1930, the overnight temperature fell to -16.1 °C (3 °F) – the coldest temperature for the whole of the UK during that year, and the latest date in spring the UK's lowest temperature has been recorded.
Demography
| Year | Population |
|---|
| 1801 | 6,657 | | 1851 | 29,238 | | 1881 | 48,069 | | 1901 | 79,342 | | 1941 | 116,434 | | 1981 | 131,016 | | 2001 | 137,017 | | |
People from Newport are known as Newportonians. The central areas of Newport are very ethnically, and racially diverse.
Religion
In 1850 Newport was recognised as the chief centre of Roman Catholicism in Wales when the town became the seat of the bishop of Newport and Menevia; however Newport lost its bishop with the creation of the Archdiocese of Cardiff in 1916.
In 2001, 71.9% of Newport residents considered themselves Christian, 2.6% Muslim, 1% other religions (mainly Hindu and Buddhist), 16.8% were non-religious and 8.1% chose not to answer the non-compulsory religion question on the 2001 census. The city is home to 50+ churches (including Welsh, Chinese and Urdu speaking services), and 7 mosques. There appears to be only one synagogue; the nearest Gurudwara is in Cardiff.
Economy
Newport's Travel to Work Area incorporates much of Monmouthshire; the new 2001-based area also includes Cwmbran. The city itself has three major centres for employment: the city centre, and business parks clustered around the M4 junctions 24 in the east and 28 in the west. The Civil Service is the biggest employer in the city.
Organisations based in the city include the Passport Office for much of the south and west of the UK; and the Wales headquarters of the Charity Commission and British Red Cross; the headquarters of the UK ; the headquarters of the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (formerly known as the Patent Office); the headquarters of Wales and West Utilities; a large Panasonic manufacturing plant; a manufacturing plant for International Rectifier and the shared-service centre for HM Prison Service.
In 1997, Newport secured what was then thought to be Europe's largest-ever inward investment when the LG Group announced a Ł1.7 billion project creating 6,100 jobs, and supported by public sector grants. Facilities were built on the Celtic Lakes business and science park, but market conditions led to the semiconductor plant never opening, and the CRT plant eventually closed in 2003. In 2005 Irish radiator manufacturer Quinn Group bought the former LG Phillips building, which became its European base.
Industry in the east of Newport was formerly based on the Corus steelworks at Llanwern, and although the rolling mill is still active, steel manufacture ceased in 2001. Permission has been granted to transform the 600-acre former steelworks site into a Ł1bn mixed-use development comprising housing, office and industrial space, public open space and a range of community facilities.
Regeneration
The city is undergoing a major regeneration programme led by Newport Unlimited.
Infrastructure
The first stage of regeneration involves improving the city centre road network, including turning Kingsway and Queensway into boulevards.
A new foot and cycle bridge called the Newport City footbridge opened in 2006, linking the east and west banks of the river together. Further downstream, the Southern Distributor Road to the south of the city opened in 2004, including a new road bridge over the Usk, improving access and opening up new areas for development.
In the longer term, a new M4 bypass skirting the southern edge of the urban area of Newport is to be built, reducing the congestion on the existing motorway and making Newport and the surrounding areas more accessible (although this has prompted oppostion from Nash and neighbouring villages). There are calls for a barrage across the River Usk to be incorporated with the M4 bypass, so the level of the river stays permanently at high tide level, although plans for a barrage across the River Severn would reduce the need for an Usk barrage.
The bus and railway stations are being extensively redeveloped. Work on the bus station is due to start in early 2008, whilst work on Platform 4 of Newport High Street Station was completed in July 2007. The railway station's connection with the Ebbw Valley Line is due to be completed by 2009. There are plans to reopen many suburban stations in the near future - as part of phase one of the Ebbw Valley reopening, Rogerstone was re-opened in February 2008. Phase two will see Pye Corner re-opened, and four others are planned in the city's Unitary Development Plan.
A state-of-the-art hospital is planned to be built. Many local residents have suggested that the new District General Hospital be built at the Whiteheads site now the old Corus facility has closed, but no final site has been approved.
A new Ł11 million five-star Ramada Plaza hotel will be built at Celtic Springs Business Park in the west of the city.
Commercial and residential
As part of the Newport Unlimited master plan, the city centre is currently being expanded to take in areas of the east bank. The area of land between Newport Bridge and George Street Bridge is being developed as a Ł43 million high-density combined commercial and residential area, joined to the west bank by the new footbridge. The plan is designed to show a strong urban form along the river front, emphasised with tall landmark buildings The first phase will be known as City Vizion. Also on the east bank, next to Newport Bridge, permission has been granted to turn the Grade II-listed former Newport Technical College into luxury apartments.
A new Ł210 million city centre shopping complex known as Friars Walk including a Debenhams department store and multiplex cinema, will be created in time for the 2010 Ryder Cup in Newport. This new complex will form the heart of the regenerated city centre and has been designed so that the Newport City footbridge leads right into the southern entrance. The development will also include 281 apartments in a 20-storey tower. This complex will complement the adjacent Kingsway Shopping Centre, which is undergoing its own Ł20 million refurbishment and expansion, due to be completed by the end of 2007.
The Cambrian Centre on Queensway Boulevard, near Newport High Street station, will be redeveloped to include a 30-storey, 101 metre (332 ft)-tall block of 238 apartments and four-star hotel, and a 10-storey office block. The shopping experience of Cambrian Road and Queensway Boulevard will be improved with retail uses on the first two floors. The extension of Railway Street through the complex to rejoin with Cambrian Road will improve the permeability of the area - that is, the ease of pedestrian access - for shoppers. The new buildings will be known as City Spires.
The Old Town Dock area is one of the main areas for residential development in the masterplan. At the extreme northern end of this area, a Ł50 million riverside University campus will be constructed adjacent to the new footbridge. One of the old University campuses in Allt-yr-yn, will be transformed into high quality housing.
Just to the south of the new campus a 441-bed student block is already under construction as of September 2007 and is due to be finished in September 2008.
Adjacent to this site is "The Edge", a development of 227 apartments, including a 21-storey tower containing duplex apartments and penthouses.
Further south is the "Newhaus" development of 154 riverside apartments.
At the southern end of the site, the "Alexandra Gate" development will eventually see 300 homes and riverside apartments built adjacent to the City Bridge. A 124-bed Ramada Encore hotel is also planned for the intersection of the Southern Distributor Road and Usk Way.
Further east, there are proposals to transform the disused Llanwern steelworks into 4,000 houses, shops and other facilities, with the creation of up to 6,000 jobs.
The two main projects Friars Walk and City Spires have now been delayed due to Modus failing to secure funding for the projects.The chances of these projects being finished in time for the Ryder Cup in 2010 are now highly unlikely.
Leisure
The Riverfront Arts Centre was the first structure to be built as part of Newport's regeneration by Newport City Council. It stands on Kingsway Boulevard on the west bank of the Usk adjacent to the Friars Walk development site.
On the east bank, a new stadium and sports and entertainment complex having a capacity of 15,000 will be built on Rodney Parade. It will be home to the Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons rugby teams. The stadium could also be used for other purposes, such as music concerts and is planned to be complete in 2010.
A marina is planned to be built at Crindau, just off Heidenheim Drive. The Marina would be the southern terminus of the Monmouthshire canal and would provide opportunities for new housing, shops and leisure facilities.
To the south-east of the city lies the extensive Newport Wetlands Reserve, opened in March 2000 as a mitigation for the loss of mudflats caused by the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage.
Transport
- See also :Category:Transport in Newport
The city is served with transport links – the M4 motorway comes within a mile (1.6 km) of the city centre, and Newport can be accessed from six junctions (from 24-28 inclusive). The Great Western main railway line also passes through the heart of the city, stopping at Newport railway station. Cardiff is well linked with Newport, with rail and bus services between the cities approximately every 5 minutes.
Road
The principal east—west roads are the M4 motorway and A48. The A48 serves as an alternative to the M4 for travelling east–west. It is also the primary road for travelling to rural Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire.
The principal north—south roads are the A467 and A4042 and A449 trunk roads. The A467 and A4042 connect the surrounding valleys to the city and motorway network, and the A449 connects Newport to the Midlands. All are high-speed dual carriageways.
Bus
Bus services are provided by the council-owned Newport Transport, who provide the "Newport Bus" branded service in the city. Other operators include Stagecoach in South Wales, Francis Drake Travel and Cardiff Bus. Newport bus station is a large terminus which is soon to be redeveloped as part of the Friars Walk shopping complex.
Rail
Newport railway station is connected directly to the South Wales Main Line branch of the Great Western Main Line, Welsh Marches Line and Gloucester to Newport Line. The connection of Newport station to the Ebbw Valley Line is due to be reopened in 2009.
The Great Western line provides connections to Cardiff, Bridgend and Swansea to the west and high-speed connections to Bristol, Swindon, Reading and London to the east. Additional semi-fast services also call at Cardiff, Bristol and Swansea.
Other direct destinations include:
- Bath, Weston-Super-Mare, Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth, Taunton, Didcot, Port Talbot and Frome with First Great Western.
- Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cwmbran, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Chester, Manchester, Bangor, Carmarthen and Holyhead with Arriva Trains Wales
- Gloucester, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Plymouth and Newcastle upon Tyne with CrossCountry
Air
The nearest airports are Cardiff and Bristol.
Education
- See also :Category:Education in Newport
Newport is home to the University of Wales, Newport which has two campuses in the city – one in Caerleon and the other in Allt-yr-yn. The university can trace its roots to the founding of the Newport Mechanics Institute in 1841. Newport School of Art, Media and Design was one of the first Art Schools to be awarded degree status in 1963 and enjoyed a high reputation in , and throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It is still highly regarded however, especially in .
Plans have been granted for the first phase of a new Ł60 m city centre university campus as part of the riverside regeneration plans by the urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited. This phase will see the return of the renowned Newport School of Art, Media and Design to the city centre.
The City of Newport is home to eight state comprehensive schools, and one independent comprehensive school. All schools are governed by the Newport LEA. Newport also has a campus of the further education college Coleg Gwent called the City of Newport Campus, informally known as Nash College.
Culture and arts
- See also :Category:Culture in Newport
Newport Transporter Bridge is one of the few remaining working bridges of its type in the world and featured in the film Tiger Bay. Visitors can travel on the suspended cradle most days and can walk over the top of the steel framework on bank holidays. The only other British example is Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.
Newport has a modern purpose-built theatre and arts venue, the Riverfront Arts Centre and regular productions at the Dolman Theatre. The city has many works of civic art, including the giant steel Wave on the banks of the Usk, tiled murals at the Civic Centre, Old Green Interchange and John Frost Square plus a number of statues dotted around the city centre including one commemorating the work of poet W. H. Davies.
Newport has two major museums: Newport Museum and the Roman Legionary Museum at Caerleon. In July each year an Arts festival is held in Caerleon and Roman Military re-enactment in the amphitheatre, the largest restored amphitheatre in Britain. The remains of the Roman baths and barracks can be seen at Caerleon.
Set in a beautiful 90 acre (360,000 m˛) park, Tredegar House is one of the best examples of a 17th century Charles II mansion in Britain. The earliest surviving part of the building dates back to the early 1500s. For over five hundred years, it was home to one of the greatest of Welsh families, the Morgans - later Lords Tredegar - until they left in 1951. The house was then used as a girls' school until it was bought by the council in 1974, giving rise to its present status as the "grandest council house in Britain".
The city also has one of the leading male voice choirs in the region - City of Newport Male Choir - meeting twice weekly at the YMCA building. Under the direction of Mr Frank Jones, the choir is gaining popularity and has even discussed touring with the Diversions the Dance Company of Wales company.
The city is known for its night-life, containing many pubs , bars and nightclubs. The most famous of these is probably T.J.'s, an alternative music club where it is rumoured that Kurt Cobain proposed to Courtney Love. T.J.'s was voted one of the top 50 'Big Nights Out' in the world by FHM in December 1997. Newport City Live Arena and Newport Leisure Centre are popular concert venues.
Newport hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1897, 1988 and 2004.
Local media
Newport's local newspaper is the South Wales Argus, which is published in the city and distributed throughout the historic county of Monmouthshire area. Local analogue radio broadcasting licences cover the Cardiff/Newport area; the FM licence is held by Cardiff Broadcasting Co. Ltd., broadcasting as 103.2 & 97.4 Red Dragon and the AM licence is held by Capital Radio plc, broadcasting as Capital Gold.The local DAB ensembles are Cardiff and Newport (11C) and South Wales and Severn Estuary (12C).
Parks and playing fields
- See also :Category:Parks in Newport
The main municipal parks in Newport are Tredegar Park, Belle Vue Park and Beechwood Park. The major municipal playing fields are located at Tredegar Park, Coronation Park, Glebelands, Pillgwenlly sports ground, Kimberley Park, Shaftesbury Park and Caerleon Broadway.
Twinning
Newport has four international twinning links:
Heidenheim
The Newport - Heidenheim Twinning Association was formed in 1980 to promote and assist Newport’s link with Heidenheim.
Kutaisi
The twinning arrangement between Newport and Kutaisi, Georgia dates from 1989. Kutaisi is the second city in Georgia, set in a beautiful location between the Caucasian mountains and the Black Sea. The was founded to promote international friendships and to strengthen links between the two communities.
Guangxi
Newport has been twinned with Guangxi Province in China since 1996.
Annapolis
Newport is a sister city of Annapolis, Maryland.
Sport
- See also :Category:Sport in Newport
The city is home to the Celtic Manor Resort, a five-star conference resort and home of the Celtic Manor Wales Open, the annual European Tour golf tournament. The resort is also venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.
The exploits of Newport RFC were once world-renowned. One of the few clubs to have beaten all the major southern hemisphere touring sides, they were the only side to beat the Invincible All Blacks of 1962—63. Amongst the names associated with the club are Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, the first Rugby Union superstar, and David Watkins, the only man to have captained Great Britain at rugby union and rugby league. Since the regionalisation of Welsh club rugby in 2003, Newport RFC play in the Welsh Premier Division and operate as a feeder club to Newport Gwent Dragons who play in the Celtic League. Eight other rugby union teams playing in the Welsh League are based in Newport; Newport Saracens, Pill Harriers, Newport High School Old Boys, Bettws, Caerleon, Hartridge, St Julians High School Old Boys and Whiteheads. Newport's rugby league club are called the Newport Titans and play in the Welsh Conference Premier.
Newport's best known association football club is Newport County, who were formed in 1912. Although currently playing in the Football Conference, Newport County have played in the second tier of English football and spent 49 seasons in the Football League, reached the last 16 of the FA Cup and the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, until they were relegated from the Football League in 1988 and went bankrupt the following year, only to be reformed at a lower level.
Newport is also home to four teams that play in the Welsh Football League: Caerleon, Newport YMCA, Llanwern and Newport Civil Service. The city has its own league, the Newport and District Football League which is part of the Welsh football league system. Lovell's Athletic were a fairly well-known team in the mid-20th century – due to the suspension of League football during the Second World War they were the premier team in the city, as Newport County did not field a side. During this period they managed to reach the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 1945-46 season.
The city has a speedway track, Hayley Stadium, home to the Newport Wasps speedway team. The venue is located in Queensway Meadows industrial estate and provides a model for new-build stadia. From 1964 to 1977 speedway was staged at Somerton Park. The Newport International Sports Village at Liswerry includes one of the few indoor velodromes in Britain, a tennis Centre, swimming pool and facilities for cricket, squash and badminton. Newport Leisure Centre is in the city centre and includes a swimming pool and squash courts.
Newport is one of three main cities where British Baseball is still played - the others are Cardiff and Liverpool - and the city hosts a Wales-England international match every four years at Coronation Park.
Newport has a thriving with four courts situated in the grounds of Newport RFC.
Newport's boxing club, St. Joseph's Amateur Boxing Club, is situated on George Street and is the home club of Yemeni born Commonwealth bronze medallist Mo Nasir .
The city is currently home to a number of annual sporting events, including:
Notable people
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