Newport

Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is the third largest city in Wales (after Cardiff and Swansea). Standing on the banks of the river Usk, it is the cultural capital of the traditional county of Monmouthshire, although an administrative county in its own right. The county borough of Newport was granted city status in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee.

General information
The full Welsh name for the city is Casnewydd-ar-Wysg (pronounced Cas-NEW-ith) ('e' as in 'men'; 'th' as in 'then'), which literally means 'New Castle-on-Usk'. This refers to the twelfth-century castle ruins near the city centre, which are 'new' compared to the Roman fortress at nearby Caerleon. Newport is also sometimes labelled Newport-on-Usk on old maps.

The city's importance as a trading port in the middle ages was re-emphasized when a 15th century ship, referred to locally as the Newport ship was recently uncovered from the bank of the Usk within Newport during the construction of a new arts centre.

The city is excellently served in communication terms - the M4 motorway comes within a mile of the city centre, and Newport has six junctions. The Great Western main railway line also passes right through the heart of the city, stopping at High Street station. Newport is also a major railway junction between the Great Western line and a line direct to the north of England.

Culture and Arts
Newport is known for its many works of civic art, including the steel Wave on the banks of the Usk, and the mechanical clock in the city centre. It also has one of the few remaining working transporter bridges (the other British example being in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire).

Set in a beautiful 90 acre 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 girl's 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 is known for its nightlife, containing many pubs, bars and nightclubs in a relatively small area. The most famous of these is probably TJ's, an alternative music club where it is rumoured that Kurt Cobain proposed to Courtney Love.

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 back to the founding of the Newport Mechanics Institute in 1841. The Newport School of Art was one of the first Schools to be awarded degree status in 1963 and enjoyed a high reputation in Painting and Sculpture throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

There are plans to centralise the university in a new £60m city centre campus as part of the riverside regeneration plans by the urban regeneration corporation Newport Unlimited.

Sport
The city has a formidable sporting reputation, owed mainly to the exploits of Newport Rugby Club. One of the few clubs to have beaten all the major southern hemispere 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.

Newport also has a famous (association) football club, Newport County: although currently a non-league club, it has an enviable reputation in Welsh football, citing three internationals in its squad. Newport also has a speedway track and is home to one of the few indoor velodromes in Britain.

History
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 hill forts overlooking it. On the very edge of their empire, the Roman legions built a fortress at Caerleon to defend the river crossing. The Normans arrived in 1090 to build a castle and river crossing downstream. Around the settlement, the New Town grew to be become Newport, and was granted a charter by Hugh, Earl of Stafford in 1385.

Newport was the focal point of a major Chartist uprising in 1839, where John Frost and 3,000 others marched on the Westgate Hotel. John Frost Square, in the centre of the city, is named in his honour. (See Chartism for more information)

Coat of Arms
Newport'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'.

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Twinning
Newport has three international twinning links, Heidenheim in Germany, Kutaisi in Georgia and Guangxi Province in China

Districts
The city is divided into 20 wards. Most of these wards are co-terminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. Each community can have an elected council. The following table lists city council wards, communities, and community councils:

Ward Communities Community councils
Allt-yr-yn Allt-yr-yn
Alway Alway
Beechwood Beechwood
Bettws Bettws
Caerleon Caerleon
Gaer Gaer
Graig Graig Graig
Langstone Langstone, Llanvaches, Penhow Langstone, Llanvaches, Penhow
Llanwern Bishton, Goldcliff, Llanwern, Redwick Bishton, Goldcliff, Llanwern, Redwick
Liswerry Liswerry, Nash Nash
Malpas Malpas
Marshfield Coedkernew, Marshfield, Michaelstone-y-Fedw, Wentloog Coedkernew, Marshfield, Michaelstone-y-Fedw, Wentloog
Pillgwenlly Pillgwenlly
Ringland Ringland
Rogerstone Rogerstone Rogerstone
Shaftesbury Shaftesbury
St.Julians St.Julians
Stow Hill Stow Hill
Tredegar Park Tredegar Park
Victoria Victoria