NEWPORT. 
church ; but it was purchafed from them in the reign of 
Henry VI. by Thomas Draper, a citizen of London, who 
made it collegiate, anu placed in itacuftos and four fel¬ 
lows : the former was the parilh-prieft. William Adams, 
efq. a native of the town, founded the free-fchool, which 
is a ftately edifice of brick, and has a library attached to it 
for the life of the fcholars. The lands belonging to this 
inftitution are exempted from parliamentary, parochial, 
or any other kind of, taxes, by virtue of a grant from Oliver 
Cromwell. Pupils are qualified here for the univerfity. 
Near the fchoolftand two handfome alms-houfes, erefted 
and endowed by the fame munificent founder, who like- 
wife gave 550I. towards the building of a town-houfe. 
Newport fultained very ferious damage from fire on the 
16th of May, 1665. One hundred and fixty houfes, with 
their contents, were on this occafion confumed by the 
deftroying element. The market-day is Saturday; and 
here are fix fairs annually. This town contends with 
Shiffnal for the honour of having given birth to the cele¬ 
brated Tom Brown. See vol. iii. p.442. 
According to the parliamentary returns of 1801, the 
houfes contained in this parifh amounted to 323 in num¬ 
ber, and the inhabitants to 2307. In thofe of x8n, the 
former are eftimated at 478, and the latter at 2114, being 
anincreafeof 155 houfes, and a decreafe of 193 males, for 
the number of women is augmented. This indicates a 
grofs error in one of the reports. 
NEW'PORT, a town in the county of Effex, formerly 
called Newport Pond. It joins to Debden, in the road 
from Stortford to Saffron Walden and Cambridge ; and 
ftands on the river Grant, or Cam. Here was anciently 
a market, till removed to Saffron Walden. In this parifh 
was the monaftery called St. Leonard’s Hofpital, for the 
benefit of which, a fair was appointed on the 17th of No¬ 
vember, which is commonly called Colt Fair, and another 
on Eafter-Monday. It is thirty-nine miles north-north- 
eaft of London. 
NEW'PORT, a borough and market-town in the 
county of Monmouth, is fituated twenty-four miles from 
Monmouth, and 147 from London. It is called by Gy- 
raldus Novus-Burgus, or New Town ; it arofe out of the 
declining greatnels of Caerleon, and was by the Welfh 
denominated Cajtel- Newydd, or New Caflle. Robert earl 
of Gloucefter, natural fon of Henry I. erected a caftle 
here for the defence of his poffeffions. This fortrefs de- 
fcended from the earls of Gloucefter, through feveral 
noble families, till, on the attainder of Edward duke of 
Buckingham, it was, together with thelordfliip, feized by 
Henry VIII. The prefent proprietor is William Kemeys, 
elq. of Mayndec. The fhell of the caftle, which ftands 
on the bank of the Ufk, is a maftive ftrufture, but not of 
large dimenfions, though it appears to have been formerly 
of greater extent. The building forms nearly a paral¬ 
lelogram, and is conftru&ed with rubble, coigned with 
hewn ftone. The fide towards the town confifts fimply 
of a plain wall, which has led to the conjecture, that it 
was ereCled folely for defending the paflage acrofs the 
river; but it is evident that formerly the works were 
much ftronger on the fouthern fide. Towards the north, 
in the centre, isafquare tower, which ferved for the keep 
or citadel: beneath this is a lally-port, facing the river, 
with a pointed .arch and a groove for a portcullis; and on 
each fide is a large mafiy tower. The centre contains a 
fpacious apartment called the ftate-room; adjoining to 
this are the remains of the baronial hall. One of the col¬ 
lateral towers, though in a dilapidated ftate, is fitted up 
as an habitation; and the whole fite is occupied as a 
farm and farm-yard. Near it was a Roman military way, 
called Julia Strata; and they Ihow a ford here in a ftream 
called Nant-Hentliam, where they fay king Henry II. 
found no fmall advantage by his freckled face ; for he no 
fooner palled this ford, though by mere accident, but the 
Welfh, who were very credulous of old prophecies, fub- 
mitted, becaufe their oracle, Merlin Sylvefter, had fore¬ 
told they fliould be conquered by a prince of that com¬ 
plexion, who fhould pafs the ford. 
Vol. XVII. No. 1158. 
21 
Newport obtained a charter of privileges from Edward II. 
further grants were beftowed by fublequent monarchs ; 
and by a charter, dated in the 21ft year of James I. it is 
now governed by a corporation, ftyled “ The mayor, al¬ 
dermen, and burgeftes, of the borough of Newport, in 
the county of Monmouth.” This borough, conjointly 
with Ulk and Monmouth, fends one member to parlia¬ 
ment; the eleitive franchife being veiled in the refident 
burgeftes. The town confifts principally of one long 
narrow ftreet, extending from the flat bank of the Ulk 
up to the eminence on which ftands the parilh-church of 
St. Woolas, which Leland calls St. Guntle Olave, and 
which is the only place of worlhip on the eftablilhment. 
This edifice confifts of a lofty fquare tower, a nave with 
two aides, a chancel, and a fmall chapel, now ufed only 
as a burial-place. The church was erefted at different 
periods. Its tower was built by Henry III. as a memorial 
of his gratitude to the inhabitants of the town for their 
fuccefsful oppofition to Simon Mountfort earl of Lei- 
cefter. The nave, which is the only part remaining of 
the original ftrufture, was built, if not in the Saxon, evi¬ 
dently in the earlieft part of the Anglo-Norman, period. 
Leland ftates “ ther was a houfe of religion by the key, 
beneth the bridge.” This, Tanner conjectured, was a 
monaftery of friars preachers ; becaufe, at the difl’olution, 
fuch a one w r as granted to fir Edward Carn. Some re¬ 
mains are Hill Handing, and confift of feveral detached 
apartments, and the northern tranfept of the conventual 
church ; the gardens of the monaftery are inclofed by the 
original wall. Newport-bridge, a ftone ftru&ure of five 
arches over the Ulk, w'as built at theexpenfe of the county, 
under the direction of the fon of the celebrated Edwards, 
who ere6led the famous bridge of one arch, called Pont-y- 
Prydd. 
The inhabitants of the town are principally fupported 
by the commercial relations of the port, which confift of 
foreign, coafting, and inland, trade. The foreign trade 
has never arrived at any coniiderable eminence : but the 
coafting-trade is more important: the exports are chiefly 
coals, with call and bar iron from the different founderies 
in the w'eftern mountains, brought to the quay by the 
Monmouthfhire canal ; the imports are deals, furniture, 
and all kinds of fhop-goods. The inland and home trade 
has been much increaled fince the completion of the canal. 
The total number of velfels cleared out in the year end¬ 
ing the 5th of Jan. 1818, was 5139, of which, 4389 were 
coaftwife, and 750 foreign (including Ireland); and in 
theyear ending the 5th of Jan. 1816, 4562, of which 3992. 
were coaftwife, and 570 foreign ; making an increafe in 
the laft year of 397 velfels coaftwife, and 180 foreign. 
The population of Newport, according to the return 
to parliament in the year 1811, w’as 2346, occupying 453 
houfes. The market is on Saturday; fairs, Holy Thurs¬ 
day, Whit-Thurfday, Aug. 15, and Nov. 6. 
Tredonock is not far from this place, w'here is pre- 
ferved a fair and entire monument of a Roman foldier of 
the fecond legion, which was found by the fexton, in dig¬ 
ging a grave, and is particularly defcribed by Gibfon, in 
his Additions to Camden. Wilkes's Britijh Diredory, 
vol. v. Appendix. 
NEW'PORT, oi’Tref Draeth, a borough and mar¬ 
ket-town, in the hundred of Cemaes, and county of 
Pembroke, South Wales, is fituated on the river Nevern, 
at the cliftance of eight miles fouth-w'ell from the town 
of Cardigan, and 235 weft from London. This town 
was incorporated by one of the Martins, lords of Cemaes, 
who, as barons marchers, enjoyed all the privileges of fo- 
vereignty. The caftle Hood on a knoll above the town, 
at the extremity of the principal ftreet; and, though now 
a complete ruin, Hill retains marks of former llrength and 
magnificence. The area which it occupied is about fifty 
paces in diameter, and nearly circular. The grand en¬ 
trance was by a gateway between two noble baftion- 
towers, facing the north. At the weft end are the remains 
of another bold baftion, whiift two others are on thefouth 
and eaft fides. The Hate-rooms and family-apartments 
G appea r 
