NEWTOWN. 
year 1811, according to the parliamentary furvey, 1589 
inhabitants, occupying 269 houfes. 
Newton in the Willows is five miles from Warrington, 
feven from Wigan, eighteen from Prefton, forty-five from 
Lancafter, and 188 from London, in the road from War¬ 
rington to Wigan. It is an ancient borough by prefcrip- 
tion, governed by a fteward, bailiff, and burgefles, and 
returns two members to parliament, which it has done 
ever fince the ift year of Elizabeth. The fteward of the 
lord of the manor, and the bailiff, are the returning officers. 
In Sept. 1797, there was a conteft between Mr. Langford 
Brooke and Mr. Patten, for this borough ; and this was 
the firft time the borough had been contefted fince the 
early part of the reign of queen Elizabeth 5 and till this 
time there had been no refolution of the houfe of com¬ 
mons refpeCting the right of eleClion. It was then deter¬ 
mined, (Dec. 11, 1797,) “ that the right of eleCHon for 
the borough of Newton, in the county palatine of Lan¬ 
cafter, is exclufively vefted in the freemen or burgefles of 
the faid borough ; that is to fay, in any perfon feifed of a 
corporal eftate of freehold in any houfe, building, or lands, 
within the borough, of the value of forty (hillings a-year 
and upwards 5 and, in cafe of joint-tenants or tenants in 
common, no more than one perfon has a right to vote 
for one and the fame houfe or tenement.” The number 
of voters is about iixty nominally, but aCiually only one; 
namely, the proprietor, Thomas Leigh, efq. of Lyme, who 
nominates both members, one of whom is himfelf. 
Here was formerly a market on Saturday, now difcon- 
tinued. Fairs, May 17, and Auguft 11 and 12, for horned 
cattle, which are brought out of Scotland, and the north¬ 
ern parts of England, and fold here in vaft numbers to the 
drovers who fupply London and the eaftern counties: on 
the fecond days of thefe fairs are fold horfes, &c. Here 
is a manufacture of fuftian, and another of cotton. The 
chapel has a clock 5 and there is a crofs (formerly a mar- 
ket-crofs) in the cemetery. There is a charity-fchool, 
where about eighty boys and girls are educated at the ex- 
penfe of the lord of the manor, who has a feat a little way 
out of the town, in the road to Affiton. Another charity- 
fchool was founded here in 1707 by one Hornby, a yeo¬ 
man of the town. 
At a place called the Red Bank, near Newton, in Au¬ 
guft 1648, a detachment of Cromwell’s army defeated a 
party of Highlanders on their march from Prefton; and 
the greater part of the prifoners were hanged in a field 
near the fcene of action, which ftill bears the name of 
Gallows Croft. Beauties of England and Wales , vol. ix. 
JBritiJh Diredory , vol. v. Appendix. 
NEW'TOWN, a feaport-town on the north-weft coaft 
of the I fie of Wight. It was anciently called Franclie- 
ville; and is fuppofed to have received its prefent name 
when rebuilt, after being deflroyed by the French. The 
harbour, at high water, is capable of receiving veffels of 
500 tons, and affords the beft fhelter for veffels of any in 
the ifland ; but is little frequented. 
Of the three boroughs of the Ifie of Wight which have 
the privilege of representation, Newtown claims the pre¬ 
cedency, on the fcore of priority of exiftence; and is faid 
to have been one of the mod confiderable, as it is allowed 
to be one of the mod ancient, places in the ifland. It is 
about feven miles north-weft of Newport. At prefent, 
like Old Sarum, it is fcarcely equal to a common village j 
for it contains only about ten cottages, and of courfe very 
few inhabitants. It has indeed a corporation, confiding 
of a titular mayor, and twelve burgefles, who are chofen 
by the lord of the manor; but this body confifts not of 
inhabitants of the place, but of proprietors of certain 
burgage-tenures. This, being a decayed borough, confut¬ 
ing of only a few cottages, and paying no more than three 
fhillings and eight-pence to the land-tax, may be ranked 
with Old Sarum, Gatton, and Midhurft ; yet it fends as 
many members to parliament as the county of Middlefex, 
which pays a fixth part of the land-tax of the whole king- 
39 
dom; or the county of York, which contains a popula¬ 
tion of near a million perfons, and has nearly twenty 
thoufand electors on the freeholders’ book. The right of 
voting here is in thirty-three burgage-tenures, which 
have been fplit into thirty-nine, and are the property of 
the following perfons : 
The Hon. Charles Anderfon Pelham, in right of his 
wife, as heirefs to the late fir Richard Woriley - 12 
Sir John Barrington - 8 
Sir L. T. W. Holmes - - - - - 7 
Edward Worfley, efq. ----- - 
Sir William Oglander - 2 
Heirs of John Urry, efq. - - - - 2 
Co-heirs of John Leigh, efq. 1 
Maurice Biffet, efq. ----- 1 
Barrington Pope Blachford, efq. - - - 1 
Heir of William Hill, efq. - % 
William Harvey, a hufbandman 1 
39 
The Hon. Mr. Pelham and fir John Barrington are at pre¬ 
fent united ; and it is evident that, with the affiftance of 
Mr. Blachford, who is nephew to the latter, they have a 
decifive majority. Mr. Pelham is one of the members. 
One eleCtor only refides in the place, and one other was 
difqualified by Mr. Crewe’s bill. Two of thefe burgage- 
holds were purchafed by the late fir Richard Worfley of 
the prefent lord Mount-Edgecomb’s father for a thoufand 
guineas, though only two decayed cottages. 
In the peniion-lift of Charles II. this paragraph ap¬ 
peared : “ Sir John Holmes, fir Robert’s brother, and 
member for Newtown, a cowardly baffledfea-captain, twice 
boxed, and once whipped with a dog-whip, was chofen in the 
night without the head officer of the town, and but one 
burgefs prefent 5 but voted this laft election, and will be 
re-eleCted.” 
The town is fituated on the north fide of the ifland be¬ 
tween Yarmouth and Weft Cowes. The market (former¬ 
ly on Saturday) is difufed; but it has one fair on July 22. 
It is fourteen miles fouth of Southampton, and ninety-five 
miles weft-by-fouth of London. Oldfield's Reprefentative 
Hifi. and Willies's Britijh Diredory, vol. iii. 
NEW'TOWN, a market-town in the county of Mont¬ 
gomery, North Wales, is fituated on the fouth bank of 
the river Severn, at the diftance of nine miles fouth-weft 
from Montgomery, and 176 north-weft from London, 
It is a pleafant place; but moft of the buildings being 
partly ereCted with timber give it rather the appearance 
of meannefs. The market here is held on Tuefday every 
week ; and there are five well-attended fairs annually. 
The ancient name of this place was Llan-Fair-Ynhede- 
vvain, orSt. Mary in the cantrefof Cydewain ; the increafe 
of houfes and population having given origin to its pre¬ 
fent appellation. The woollen trade is carried on here, 
and in the vicinity, to a confiderable extent, and many 
perfons areftill employed in the various procefles; though 
it muft be confefled that the number of thefe has been 
much reduced of late by the introduction of machinery. 
Flannel is the chief article of produce, and is fupplied in 
every degree of finenefs. In the church, which is an 
ancient edifice, not remarkable for its architecture, is an 
alter-piece painted by Dyer the poet; and an antique font 
and fcreen, both of which are laid to have bees brought 
from the abbey of Cwmhir, in Radnorfliire. The petty- 
feffions for the upper divifion of the hundred are held in 
this town, which appears to have more than doubled its 
population fince 1801. According to the parliamentary 
returns of that year, the whole parifii contained only 203 
houfes, and 990 inhabitants; but, by the late returns 
(1811), the former are eltimated at 438, and the latter 
at 2025 in number. Such are the effeCts of an increa- 
fing trade, which has no doubt been confiderably pro¬ 
moted by the canal-navigation opened between this town 
and 
