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Newport Leasing

Did You Know?

Newport is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 mi northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest authority with city status in Wales.

Pelham Street in Newport was first in the country to use gas illuminated street lights. You can find a plaque on the side of One Pelham East today acknowledging the historic fact.

Newport was the site of the first automobile arrest and jail sentence in the country on August 28th, 1904 when the offender was charged by Judge Darius Baker with driving 15 miles per hour.

Growth and expansion. During the 19th century industrial revolution Newport expanded rapidly from a small seaport town to one of the most important places in the country for coal export and steel production. The town became known for its accessible modern docks.

Newport is a thriving city in Gwent, South Wales. Newport was created after the Normans conquered Gwent in 1093. In the early 12th century they built a castle by a ford in the River Usk. Soon a little town grew up by the castle.

It's thought that Newport itself was a predominantly Welsh-speaking town in the early 1800s, before an influx of migrants from England and Ireland came to work in the nearby South Wales Valleys coalfield.

One of the oldest buildings in the city is Newport Cathedral, which dates back to the 5th century and has survived attacks by pirates and the Normans during its long history.

The town is located at the mouth of the River Usk where it enters the River Severn estuary. A medieval borough with a castle (now in ruins) dating from about 1126, the town of Newport enjoyed commercial privileges conferred by various charters, such as that of 1385. Its present importance, however, dates from the 19th-century industrialization of the neighbouring coalfield.

The present county of Monmouthshire is mainly agricultural, but there is a growing light industrial and commercial sector in the towns, which also serve as residential bases for commuters to Newport and other urban areas to the west. 

By the end of the 12th century, a wooden bridge was built over the Usk. It was burned during a civil war in 1265 but it was soon rebuilt. In 1385 Newport was given its first charter. (A charter was a document granting the townspeople certain rights). They were allowed to elect an official called a Reeve who ran the town from day to day. They were also allowed to form an organisation called a guild that regulated trade.