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(Welsh: Casnewydd) is the third-largest city in Wales, It stands on the banks of
the River Usk and is the cultural capital and largest urban area of the historic
county of Monmouthshire and it is governed by the unitary Newport City Council.
The population of the Newport urban area is in excess of 160,000 inhabitants.
Industry
Newport has three major centres for employment: the city centre and business parks
clustered around the M4 junctions 24 in the east and 28 in the west. The civil service
industry is the biggest employer in the city and include the Passport Office for
much of the south and west of the UK, and the Wales headquarters of the Charity
Commission and British Red Cross, the headquarters of the Office for National Statistics,
the headquarters of the Patent Office and the shared-service centre for HM Prison
Service. Industry in the east of Newport was formerly based on the Corus steelworks
at Llanwern, and although the rolling mill is still active, steel manufacture ceased
in 2001. The land formerly used for manufacturing is currently being redeveloped
to provide 4,000 homes and up to 6,000 jobs. There is a wide range of accomodation
available including bed and breakfast, hotel accommodation, self catering, guest
house, cottage, camping and caravan sites.
Geography
The city is largely low-lying, but with a few hilly areas. Areas in the south and
east of the city tend to be flat and fertile with some housing estates and industrial
areas reclaimed from marshland. Areas such as Caerleon, near the banks of the River
Usk tend to also be low-lying. The western outskirts of the city are characterised
by the gently rolling hills of the Vale of Usk. There is a ridge of higher land
known as Ridgeway running through the city with good views of surrounding areas.
History
Newport has always proved an attractive place to settle. Bronze Age fishermen lived
around its fertile estuary and later the Celtic Silures built hill forts overlooking
it. In AD 75, on the very edge of their empire, the Roman legions built a fortress
at Caerleon to defend the river crossing. The Normans arrived in 1090 to build a
castle and river crossing downstream. Around the settlement, the New Town grew to
be become Newport, and was granted a charter by Hugh, Earl of Stafford in 1385.
A further charter was granted by James I in the early 17th century. During the Industrial
Revolution the Welsh Valleys became key suppliers of coal and iron: these were transported
to ports such as Newport, which grew rapidly as a result. Newport became one of
the largest towns in Wales and the focus for the new industrial towns of the Eastern
Valleys of south Wales.
Accommodation
Stayinbritain provides a selection of many thousands of accommodation properties in all parts of Newport,
from Self Catering cottages and serviced apartments, bed and breakfast, hotels, guest house, camping, caravan sites and narrow boats in all parts of
the UK and Ireland. We take no commision or booking fees from our visitors or our property owners and encourage you to deal directly with the owners.
We have provided facilities for this by showing their address and telephone number, links to email and websites and where applicable, we provide direct
links to their booking and tariff pages.
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