About Newport

Newport’s history dates back to a Celtic settlement 2000 years ago.The city’s location at the mouth of the River Usk has attracted visitors for centuriesCaerleon, just a few miles from Newport, was the site of a fortress of the 2nd (Augustan) Roman legion from the first century AD.The remains of the barracks, bath house and amphitheatre in Caerleon are among the best preserved Roman military sites in Britain.Newport is a city and unitary authority area in south east Wales, on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. At the 2011 census, it was the third largest city in Wales, with a population of 145,700. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area, with a population of 1,097,000.Newport has been a port since medieval times, when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern South Wales Valleys. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales’ largest coal-exporting port. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists. This was led by the Chartist John Frost which led to the re-branding of the Duffryn High School into John Frost School.In the 20th century, the docks declined in importance, but Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre. It was granted city status in 2002. Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010 and was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit. Medieval NewportThe Normans settled in Newport and built a castle beside the river Usk in the 12th century, the remains of which you can see today. The town received its first Charter in 1385.The discovery of the remains of a sea-going vessel in 2002 gives evidence of Newport as a centre of industry and trade in the mediaeval period.Growth and expansionDuring the 19th century industrial revolution Newport expanded rapidly from a small seaport town to one of the most important places in the country for coal export and steel production. The town became known for its accessible modern docks.Trade flourished and further extension of the docks added to Newport’s reputation – in 1914 Newport shipped over 6 million tons of coal per year.The ChartistsThe Chartist uprising of 1839 in Newport concerned demands made by the Chartists including a vote for all men over 21 years, secret ballots, wages for members of parliament (MPs) and the abolition of the property qualifications for MPs.All of these demands were incorporated within the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.22 Chartists were shot dead by soldiers and their leaders were transported but later pardoned.These men suffered for principles which we now take for granted and which form the basis of modern parliamentary democracy.