Salvation Data 0800 075 0720

Newport
The statue at St James' Square in Newport town centre.
Newport  Newport shown within the Isle of Wight
Population	23,957
OS grid reference	SZ502893
- London	90.26 miles
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWPORT
Postcode district	PO30
Dialling code	01983
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Isle of Wight
Ambulance	Isle of Wight
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Isle of Wight
List of places: UK • England • Isle of Wight

Newport, Isle of Wight

There are signs of Roman settlement in the area, which was probably known as Medina, including two known Roman villas one of which, Newport Roman Villa, is excavated and open to the public.^[1]

There was little later use until after the Norman conquest with the first charter being granted late in the twelfth 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 French 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-day name for a part of central Newport - a name confusing to many as the area is flat.^[2]

The town was 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 Carisbrooke as the main central settlement, eventually absorbing the latter as a suburb. The borough ceased to exist in 1974 after the incorporation of the larger Borough of Medina, which was itself superseded in 1995 by a single unitary authority covering the whole of the Isle of Wight.

In recent times, Newport has undergone an influx of changes, with two shopping centres and all new road directions to show for the town's recent development efforts. Newport Quay has also been re-developed, with art galleries such as the Quay Arts Centre, and new flats converted from old warehouses.

The Quen Victoria Memorial was designed by local architect, Percy Stone (1856–1934).^[3]

Cowes - 4.55 miles, 7.3 km

East Cowes - 5.01 miles, 8.1 km

Ryde - 6.73 miles, 10.8 km

Shanklin - 9.47 miles, 15.2 km

Sandown - 10.05 miles, 16.2 km

Ventnor - 11.32 miles, 18.2 km

Yarmouth - 9.76 miles, 15.7 km

The town's suburb of Parkhurst is home to three prisons: the notorious Parkhurst Prison itself, Camp Hill, and Albany. Parkhurst and Albany were once amongst the few top-security prisons in the United Kingdom.

Seaclose Park in Newport, located on the east bank of the River Medina, has since 2002 become the location for the revived Isle of Wight Music Festival, which is held annually.

St. George's Park is the home of Newport Football Club, the most successful of the Island's football teams, currently playing in the English Southern League. It has a capacity of 3,000. The Isle of Wight County Cricket Ground is located at Newclose, on the outskirts of the town.

Newport is home to the Postal Museum, possibly the largest private collection of vintage postal equipment and post boxes in the world.^[4][5]

Newport bus station is the town's central bus terminus, with all routes in the town serving it. Newport is the hub of the Southern Vectis network, with routes from across the Island terminating there to connect with other services. Wightbus also operate services.

From the Middle Ages the Parliamentary Borough of Newport had two seats in the House of Commons, and between 1807 and 1811 they were held by two future Prime Ministers: Arthur Wellesley, later to become the Duke of Wellington (who also found himself elected to two other seats at the same time), and Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston who would go on to become one of the United Kingdom's most notable Prime Ministers. The failure of Palmerston's late father to convert his Irish title into a United Kingdom peerage made entering the House of Commons possible for the young politician. The local patron arranging the deal was Sir Leonard Holmes, who made it a condition that they never visited the borough.

The borough was also represented by two other future Prime Ministers in the 1820s. George Canning was MP for Newport when appointed Prime Minister in 1827; however, under the law as it then stood a minister accepting office automatically vacated his seat and had to stand for re-election to the Commons, and Canning chose to stand at Seaford, a government pocket borough in Sussex, rather than fight Newport again. But in the by-election that followed at Newport, the vacancy was filled by the election of the Honourable William Lamb, later 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose father had also represented the borough in the 1790s. However, Lamb remained MP for Newport for only two weeks before also being elected for Bletchingley, which he preferred to represent.

Newport's representation in Parliament was cut to one seat in 1867, and it was abolished altogether as a separate constituency in 1885. It now forms a part of the Isle of Wight constituency.

Prior to 1974 Newport had its own Newport Borough Council.^[6]

From 1974-1995 Newport was part of Medina Borough Council.^[6]

In 1995 this was abolished and the Isle of Wight Council took over responsibility. Newport until 2008 remained unparished when the Isle of Wight Council Unitary Authority was created.^[6]

Newport Town Management Committee was established in April 2006 by the Isle of Wight Council to be the interim body for the town until the Government gave approval for a parish or town council.

The first election for Newport Parish Council occurred on 1 May 2008.^[7]

Princess Elizabeth of England, daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, is buried at St. Thomas's Church

Maxwell Gray (Mary Gleed Tuttiett), writer

Kelly Sotherton, heptathlete

Darren Mew, breaststroke swimmer

Phill Jupitus, comedian

Gary Silk, footballer