Newport, Isle of Wight

Newport High Street, circa 1910

New Redevelopment of the old bus station.

Mousterian remains, featuring tools made by Neanderthals at least 40,000 years ago, were found at Great Pan Farm in the 1970s.[6]

There are signs of Roman settlement in the area, which was probably known as Medina. They include two known Roman villas, one of which, Newport Roman Villa, has been excavated and is open to the public.[7]

Information on the area resumes after the Norman Conquest. The first charter was granted in the late 12th century. In 1377 an invading French force burnt down much of the town while attempting to take Carisbrooke Castle, then under the command of Sir Hugh Tyrill. A group of Frenchmen were captured and killed, then buried in a tumulus later nicknamed Noddies Hill, a "noddy" being medieval slang for a body. This was later corrupted to Nodehill, the present name for a part of central Newport – a name that seems inappropriate, as the area is flat.[8]

In 1648 Charles I and a group of Parliamentary Commissioners concluded the Treaty of Newport, an attempt to reach a compromise in the Civil War that was undermined by Charles's negotiations with the French and Scots to intervene on his behalf. The Treaty was repudiated by Oliver Cromwell upon returning from defeating the Scots at the Battle of Preston. This led to Charles's execution.

The town had been incorporated as a borough in 1608. The town's position as an area of trade accessible to the sea meant it rapidly took over from nearby Carisbrooke as the main central settlement, eventually absorbing the latter as a suburb. The borough ceased to exist in 1974 when it was incorporated into the larger Borough of Medina, which was itself superseded in 1995 by a single unitary authority covering the whole of the Isle of Wight.

The Drill hall in Newport opened as the headquarters of the Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteers in 1860.[9]

Newport since the 1960s has acquired new shopping facilities and a pedestrianised central square. Through road traffic has ceased in many of the narrow streets. Newport Quay has been redeveloped with art galleries such as the Quay Arts Centre, and new flats converted from old warehouses.

The Queen Victoria Memorial was designed by local architect Percy Stone (1856–1934).[10]

A map showing Newport.

An aerial photograph, showing Newport (bottom left).

Geographically located in the centre of the Isle of Wight, at 50.701°N, 1.2883°W, Newport is the principal town on the island. It has public transport connections with all the island's major towns. It serves as the island's main shopping centre and location for public services. The main A3020 and A3054 roads converge as Medina Way between the busy roundabouts at Coppins Bridge and St Mary's Hospital.

Newport railway station was the hub of the Island's rail network until the mid-20th century, but closed in 1966. The site is now occupied by the dual-carriageway A3020 Medina Way.

The nearest city to the town is Portsmouth, about 13 miles (21 km) north-east on Portsea Island, adjoining the mainland. More locally, Ryde, the island's largest town, is to the north-east. Sandown and Shanklin are to the east and Cowes to the north.

The River Medina runs through Newport. North of its confluence with the Lukely Brook at the town's quay, it becomes a navigable tidal estuary.

Distance from surrounding settlements

• Cowes – 4.5 miles, 7 km
• East Cowes – 5 miles, 8 km
• Ryde – 7 miles, 11 km
• Shanklin – 9 miles, 15 km
• Sandown – 10 miles, 16 km
• Ventnor – 11 miles, 18 km
• Yarmouth, Isle of Wight – 10 miles, 16 km

The town's suburb of Parkhurst houses two prisons: the notorious Parkhurst Prison and Albany. Together they make up HMP Isle of Wight, which is the largest prison in the UK. Parkhurst and Albany were once among the few top-security prisons in the United Kingdom. Camp Hill was another prison in the area, but it closed in 2013.

View of Newport from Mount Joy, looking north with the Medina estuary in the distance

Seaclose Park in Newport, on the east bank of the River Medina, has since 2002 been the location for the revived Isle of Wight Music Festival, which is held once a year. Newport is home to the Postal Museum, possibly the largest private collection of vintage postal equipment and post boxes in the world.[11][12]

Newport bus station is the town's central bus terminus. It acts as the hub of the Southern Vectis network, with routes from across the Island terminating there.

In birth order:

• Elizabeth Stuart (1635–1650), daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, is buried at St. Thomas' Church.
• Edward Vernon Utterson (1775–1856), lawyer, was one of Six Clerks in Chancery, an antiquary and an editor.
• Charlotte Anley (1796–1893), novelist and songwriter, lived in the town in the mid–1820s.
• William Buckler (1814–1884), portrait artist and entomologist, was born and lived here, and died in Lumley, near Emsworth.
• Maxwell Gray (Mary Gleed Tuttiett, 1846–1923), novelist and poet
• Westmore Family, prominent family in Hollywood make-up
• Craig Douglas (born 1941), pop singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s
• Geoffrey Hughes (1944–2012), actor
• Tony Howe (born 1947), club steward.
• Anthony Minghella (1954–2008), film director
• Phill Jupitus (born 1962), comedian
• Kelly Sotherton (born 1976), heptathlete
• Darren Mew (born 1979), breast-stroke swimmer
• Lewis Buxton (born 1983), footballer with Bolton Wanderers
• Gary Silk (born 1984), footballer
• David Griffiths (born 1985), cricketer
• Chris Russell (born 1989), cricketer
• Danny Briggs (born 1991), cricketer
• Keegan Brown (born 1992), professional darts player

• Church of St John the Baptist
• St Paul's Church
• List of current places of worship on the Isle of Wight

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Newport, Isle of Wight (category)

• Newport Guide
• Tourist and Information Guide for Newport, Isle of Wight