Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/54

NEWPORT DIVISION. 42 NEWPORT. on the side of the canal. The quantity of pig-iron, cast- ings, bar and bolt-iron, rolled iron for armour-plates, tin plates, wire, and coals, shipped from this port exceeds that of any other in the principality. The imports con- sist chiefly of provisions, and other articles of general consumption, and of very large quantities of timber from Canada and Nova Scotia. The Act of 5 and 6 William IV., cap. 76, divided the borough into two wards, and made the municipal boundaries co-extensive with those for parliamentary purposes. . It returns one member to parliament, conjointly with Monmouth and Usk. The mayor of Monmouth is the returning officer at elections, but the mayor of Newport sits as his deputy in this town. The borough is governed under the Municipal Corporations' Act, by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 coun- cillors, with the style of "mayor, aldermen, and bur- gesses of the borough of Newport," and has a revenue of .1,070. The mayor and ex-mayor are justices of the peace, with several others. Petty sessions are held before the borough magistrates thrice a week, on Mon- day, Wednesday, and Friday, and prisoners are com- mitted for trial at the county sessions, or assizes. A view of the town and St. Woollos church, backed up by the Blorengo and Turn Barlwm mountains, is com- manded from the neighbourhood of the docks, which are situated in the district of Pillgwenlly, or Pill. The town gives name to a deanery in the archdeac. of Monmoulh, and dioc. of Llandaff. The living is a Tic.* with the vie.* of Bettws and the cur. of St. Mark's an- nexed, in the dioc. of Llandaff, val. 278, in the patron, of the bishop. The parochial church of St. Woollos, which occupies a situation on Stow Hill, is a venerable structure with a tower, said to have been built by Henry III. as a reward to the inhabitants for their suc- cessful resistance to Simon Montfort, Earl of Leicester. It was formerly ornamented with a statue, part of which is still preserved. The church was restored in 1855, and exhibits specimens of various styles of architecture. The principal feature in the building is the Norman chapel of St. Mary, which is connected with the nave by a Romanesque archway, adorned with curious Saxon carving, and with the Norman ornaments of billet and chevron ; and having this peculiarity, that the inner order rests upon two capitals of rude foliage, supported by a pair of large detached columns. It contains severdl ancient monuments, one of an armed knight beneath a canopy, supported by three pillars, probably of the time of James I. ; another of a mutilated knight in armour, and a female figure, apparently of the Hth century, besides others in a more mutilated condition. The churchyard commands a prospect of the surrounding country, including the town of Caerleon, and the tower of Christchurch, with the wide expanse of the Bristol Channel, the estuary of the Usk and the Severn lying below, and the lofty hills of Somerset and Gloucester- shire in the distance. Besides the parish church, there is a commodious district church, dedicated to St. Paul, erected in 1837, in Commercial-street ; and Holy Trinity church, in the neighbourhood of the docks, to which a district has been annexed, and an endowment provided by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, Baptists, and Society of Friends, and a Roman Catholic chapel, of considerable pretensions. The alinshouses have an en- dowment of 25 per annum. Newport is the head of a Poor-law Union, embracing 38 parishes. It is the seat of new County Court and superintendent registry dis- tricts. The principal antiquities are the remains of the castle mentioned above, comprising the keep, gateway, hall, and murenger's house, part of which is now con- verted into a brewery ; also the remains of a friary, con- sisting of a chapel and refectory. At Twyn Gwnlliw, not far from the town, is a Roman camp and barrow. The Duke of Beaufort is lord of the manor, and receives the tolls. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday. l:iirs are held on Ascension Day, 30th April, 19th Sep- teniln-r, and Oth November. XI 'VPOUT, a par., post, and market town in South Bradford hund., co. Salop, 8 miles N.E. of Wellington, 11 S.W. of Stafford, and 19 E. by N. of Shrewsbury. It is a station on the Shropshire Union railway. The town, which is situated on the Shrewsbury canal and the river Strine, near the Roman road, Watling-street, is a polling and petty sessions town. It formerly be- longed to the Audleys, and Lords Newport, and gives the title of viscount to Earl Bradford. It obtained its first charter under Henry I., and had various privileges granted by succeeding sovereigns until the time of Edward VI. The streets are well paved and lighted with gas, and contain many good shops. There aro two commercial banks, a savings-bank, gas-works, a mechanics' institute, and ancient market cross, and townhall. In this last building petty sessions are held fortnightly for the Newport division of the hundred, and the county court sits monthly. The poor-law guardians meet once a fortnight at the board-room, in the union poor-house, erected in 1855. The Poor-law Union of Newport comprises 16 parishes or townships, 10 of which are in the county of Salop, and 6 in that of Stafford. The corporation consists of a high steward, deputy steward, two bailiffs, and 28 burgesses. The principal industries are agricultural implements and machinery works ; also turning. In the vicinity are collieries, iron-mines, and limestone quarries, giving occupation to many of the inhabitants of the town. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Lichfleld, val. 275, in the patron, of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is an ancient structure, formerly belong- ing to Shrewsbury Abbey. It was alienated by per- mission of Henry VI., to Thomas Draper, by whom it was made collegiate in 1441. The church, which has a square tower, was repaired in 1838, at a cost of 2,000. The parochial charities produce about 1,760 per annum. There are two sets of almshouses ; those known as the town almshouses for four poor females, were originally founded in 1446 by William Glover, and rebuilt in 1836 by voluntary contributions ; the other almshous.es were founded by William Adams in 1656. There is a free grammar school, with four exhibitions to the univer- sities ; also National, English, and infant schools. Under the provisions of an Act of Parliament, passed in the 4th year of George III., a trust was formed for enclosing 112 acres of waste land, the proceeds to be appropriated to the keeping of the streets, repairs of the market hall and market cross, &c. ; also a bridge-trust, formed in 1750, for like purposes. The Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics, have each a place of worship. At a short distance from the church are Lilleshall Abbey ruins. Tom Brown, a witty but licentious poet of the 17th century, was a native of this town. Market days are Saturday for the sale of corn and provisions, and every alternate Tuesday for live stock. Fairs ale held on the first Tuesday in February, the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday, 28th May, 27th July, 25th September, and 10th December, principally for live stock. NEWPORT, formerly a representative borough in the par. of St. Stephen, N. div. of the hund. of East, co. Cornwall, 214 miles W. by S. of London. It is situated opposite Launceston, on a branch of the river Tamar, and appears anciently to have been joined with that borough under the name of Dunheved. It separately returned two members to parliament since the reign of Edward VI., but was disfranchised by the Reform Act, and incorporated with Launceston. NEWPORT, a hmlt. in the par. of Bishop's Tawton, hund. of South Molton, co. Devon, half a mile S. by E. of Barnstaple, of which it may be considered a populous suburb. The village, which has a post-office, is situated on rising ground, commanding views of Barnstaple l!ay and the river Taw. It contains a brewery, foundry, and spinning-mill, and is surrounded by many family scats and modern villas. The living is a perpet, cur. in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 90. in the patron, of the Vicar of Bishop's Tawton. The church was erected in 1828, at the cost of 1,300. Half the sittings are free. NEWPORT, a par. in the hund. of Uttlesford, CO. Essex, 9 miles N. of Bishop-Stortford, its post town, and