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Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is the third-largest city within Wales (after Cardiff and Swansea), in the United Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is the cultural capital and largest urban area of the historic county of Monmouthshire and governed by the unitary Newport City Council. The population of Newport city is 140,000 inhabitants and the greater urban area is in excess of 160,000 (est. 2006). The name Newport comes from the fact that Caerleon was the 'old port' on the river Usk, but as ships became bigger, they could no longer navigate the river to Caerleon so a new port/dock was built near to where the Riverfront Arts Centre stands today.
Newport also has the Latin name Novus Burgus, meaning new borough or new town. It is sometimes labelled Newport-on-Usk on old maps. The city's importance as a trading port in the Middle Ages was emphasised when a 15th century ship, referred to locally as the Newport ship, was uncovered from the bank of the Usk in 2002, during the construction of the Riverfront Arts Centre. The city is home to the world-class Celtic Manor Resort, Europe's leading five-star conference resort and home of the Celtic Manor Wales Open, the annual European Tour golf tournament. The resort is also venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.
GeographyImage:Newport Transporter Bridge from east bank.jpg Newport's iconic Transporter Bridge
The suburbs of the city have grown outwards from the inner-city, mainly near to the main roads, giving the suburban sprawl of the city and irregular shape. Several out-of-town shopping centres have been built to cater for the needs of these suburbs. Such centres have large free car parks and are seen as more convenient than travelling several miles to shop in the city centre. The urban area is continuing to expand rapidly with new housing estates continuing to be built. DistrictsThe city is divided into 20 wards. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. Each community can have an elected council. The following table lists city council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*': People
People from Newport are known as Newportonians. As of 2001, 71.9% considered themselves Christian, 2.6% Muslim, 1% other religions (mainly Hindu and Buddhist), 16.8% were non-religious and 8.1% chose not to answer the non-compulsory religion question on the 2001 census. The central areas of Newport are very ethnically and racially diverse. The city is home to 7 mosques,[1] 50+ churches[2] (including Welsh, Chinese and Urdu speaking services). There appears to be only one synagogue;[3] the nearest Gurudwara[4] is in Cardiff. ClimateNewport has a moderate temperate climate, with the weather rarely staying the same for more than a few days at a time. The city is one of the warmer and sunnier locations in the UK and its sheltered location tends to protect Newport from extreme weather. Like the whole of the British Isles, Newport benefits from the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Newport has warm summers and cool winters. Thunderstorms may occur intermittently at any time of year, but are most common throughout late-spring and summer. Rain falls throughout the year, Atlantic storms give significant rainfall in the autumn, these graually becoming rarer as the winter progresses. Autumn and summer have often been the wettest seasons in recent times. Snow falls nearly every winter and usually settles on the ground several times, but it is often light and usually melts immediately or after a few days. Newport records few days with gales compared to most of Wales, again due to its sheltered location. Frosts are common from November to April. On 20 March 1930, the overnight temperature fell to -16.1 °C (3 °F) — the coldest temperature for the whole of the UK during that year, and the latest date in spring the UK's lowest temperature has been recorded.[5] RegenerationImage:Citybridgenewport.jpg City Bridge carrying the A455 over the River Usk The city is undergoing a major regeneration programme led by Newport Unlimited.[6] The most important projects include:
Transport
Image:George Street Bridge2.jpg George Street Bridge, the first cable-stayed bridge in Britain The city is excellently served with transport links — the M4 motorway comes within a mile (1.6 km) of the city centre, and Newport has six junctions. The Great Western main railway line also passes through the heart of the city, stopping at High Street station. Cardiff is well linked with Newport, with train and bus services between the cities every 5 minutes.
The principal east—west roads are the M4 motorway and A48. The A48 serves as an alternative to the M4 for travelling west. It is also the primary road for travelling to rural Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire. The principal north—south roads are the A467 and A4042 and A449 trunk roads. The A467 and A4042 connect the surrounding valleys to the city and motorway network, and the A449 connects Newport to the Midlands. All are high-speed dual carriageways.
The municipal bus service is provided by the council-owned Newport Transport, who provide the "Newport Bus" branded service in the city. Other operators including Stagecoach in South Wales, Francis Drake Travel, Terry Ward, Cardiff Bus and Welcome Travel also served the city. Newport bus station is a large and thriving terminus.
Newport is connected directly to the Great Western Main Line, Welsh Marches Line, Gloucester to Newport Line and Ebbw Valley Line. The Great Western line provides high-speed connections to Cardiff and London primarily, and also other towns and cities such as Swansea, Swindon and Reading. There are also train services directly to Birmingham, Southampton, Manchester, Nottingham, Derby, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Gloucester, Swansea, West Wales, the South Wales Valleys and many other smaller towns.
Cardiff, Bristol and Heathrow Airports are within driving distance via the M4, for those travelling by plane. EducationNewport is home to the University of Wales, Newport which has two campuses in the city — one in Caerleon and the other in Allt-yr-yn. The university can trace its roots to the founding of the Newport Mechanics Institute in 1841. The Newport School of Art was one of the first Schools to be awarded degree status in 1963 and enjoyed a high reputation in painting and sculpture throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It is still highly regarded however, especially in Documentary Photography. Plans have been granted for the first phase of a new £60m city centre university campus as part of the riverside regeneration plans by the urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited. This phase will see the return of the renowned Newport School of Art and Design to the city centre. The City of Newport is home to eight state comprehensive schools, and one independent comprehensive school. All schools are governed by the Newport LEA. Newport also has a campus of the further education college Coleg Gwent called the City of Newport Campus, informally known as Nash College. EmploymentNewport 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. Businesses in the city centre 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. Businesses on the west side of the city include: The headquarters of the Office for National Statistics, the headquarters of the Patent Office, the headquarters of Wales and West Utilities, a large Panasonic manufacturing plant, a manufacturing plant for International Rectifier and the shared-service centre for HM Prison Service. There is a huge plant on the Celtic Lakes business and science park originally built for the LG Group, but market conditions led to the semiconductor plant never opening, and the CRT plant eventually closing. There are many plans for the site, including transforming it into a conference centre along the lines of the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham or a large super-casino. 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. GovernmentImage:WalesNewport.png Newport shown alongside other principal areas of Wales
Newport has long been the largest town in the historic Monmouthshire county and became a unitary authority in 1996, although it became a county borough in 1891. The City of Newport is divided between the parliamentary constituencies of Newport West and Newport East. These two parliamentary constituencies cover a similar area to that of the City area controlled by Newport City Council. The city formerly had only one constituency until 1983 when the city was split into Newport West and East to due population expansion. The city is traditionally industrial with a large working-class population and a strong support for the Labour party, but the Conservatives have a significant minority especially in the more middle-class areas in the west. There has been a sharp increase in Liberal Democrat voters in recent elections. In the 2005 general election, the Liberal Democrats pushed the Conservatives into 3rd place in Newport East with Labour still holding on to a sizable majority but in Newport West the Conservatives gained a swing on Labour's lead, making their majority slim. Culture and artsNewport is known for its works of civic art, including the steel Wave on the banks of the Usk, and "The Nick of Time"; a large mechanical clock in the city centre. It also has one of the few remaining working transporter bridges in the world (the other British example being in Middlesbrough). Image:Tredegar-House.png Tredegar House The city is known for its nightlife, containing many pubs, bars and nightclubs. The most famous of these is probably T.J.'s, an alternative music club where it is rumoured that Kurt Cobain proposed to Courtney Love. T.J.'s was voted one of the top 50 'Big Nights Out' in the world by FHM in December 1997. Newport hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1897, 1988 and 2004. Notable peopleNotable current and former residents and natives of Newport include:
TwinningNewport has four international twinning[16] links:
The Newport - Heidenheim Twinning Association was formed in 1980 to promote and assist Newport’s link with Heidenheim.
The twinning arrangement between Newport and Kutaisi, Georgia dates from 1989. Kutaisi is the second city in Georgia, set in a beautiful location between the Caucasian mountains and the Black Sea. The Newport - Kutaisi Twinning Association was founded to promote international friendships and to strengthen links between the two communities.
Newport has been twinned with Guangxi Province in China since 1996.
Newport is a sister city of Annapolis, Maryland. Sport
The city has a formidable sporting reputation, owed mainly to the exploits of the world-famous rugby union team Newport RFC. One of the few clubs to have beaten all the major southern hemisphere touring sides, they were the only side to beat the Invincible All Blacks of 1962—63. Amongst the names associated with the club are Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, the first Rugby Union superstar, and David Watkins, the only man to have captained Great Britain at rugby union and rugby league. Since the regionalisation of Welsh club rugby, the Newport Gwent Dragons, who play in the Celtic League, have become the best supported rugby team in Newport. Newport's rugby league club are called the Newport Titans and play in the Welsh Conference Premier. Newport's best known association football club is Newport County, nicknamed the Exiles: although currently playing in the Football Conference, Newport County have played in the second tier of English football and spent 68 consecutive seasons in the Football League, reached the last 16 of the FA Cup and the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. The city also has a speedway track, home to the Newport Wasps speedway team, and is home to one of the few indoor velodromes in Britain. Newport is one of three main cities where British Baseball is still played - the others are Cardiff and Liverpool - and the city hosts a Wales-England international match every four years at Coronation Park. Newport has World-class golfing facilities at the Celtic Manor Resort, which will host the 2010 Ryder Cup. The city is currently home to a number of annual sporting events, including:
HistoryImage:Newport Castle.jpg Newport Castle Image:Newport Cathedral.jpg St. Woolos Cathedral Image:Newportciviccentre.jpg Newport Civic Centre The River Usk at Newport has always proved an attractive place to make a home. Bronze Age fishermen settled 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. As the Industrial Revolution took off in Britain in the late 19th century, the Welsh Valleys became key suppliers of coal and iron: these were transported down local rivers and the new canals 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. Newport was the focal point of a major Chartist uprising in 1839, where John Frost and 3,000 others marched on the Westgate Hotel at the centre of the town. The march was met with an attack by militia, called to the town by the Mayor: at least 20 marchers were killed and buried in St Woolos' churchyard. John Frost was sentenced to death for treason, but was instead transported to Australia: he returned to Britain (but not to Newport) later in his life. John Frost Square, in the centre of the city, is named in his honour. (See Chartism for more information) The county borough of Newport was granted city status in 2002 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee.[17] Other key dates:
Coat of ArmsNewport's coat of arms is unusual for two reasons. Firstly, it places a cherub above the shield of arms; secondly, one of the supporters is a winged sea lion - Newport was the first authority to use this rare heraldic device. In 1929 Newport obtained a grant to use the armorial bearings which, in fact, it had already been using for some time - certainly since 1835.[18] This is a gold shield with a red chevron in reverse; the shield is ensigned by a cherub. The shield is that of the Staffords, Earls and Dukes of Buckingham, lords of the Manor of Newport in the 14th and 15th centuries - but the reversed chevron marks the difference between these Borough Arms and those of the family. In 1957 it was decided to petition the Earl Marshal for the supporters which all Boroughs are entitled to possess. A year later the College of Arms granted this request and a winged sea dragon and a winged sea lion were brought into use.[19] These supporters represent strength on land, sea and in the air. The motto Terra Marique was adopted at the same time and means 'By land and sea'. The official description of the armorial bearings are: "(arms) or, a chevron reversed gules, the shield ensigned by a cherub proper. Supporters: on the dexter side a winged sea lion or, and on the sinister side a sea dragon gules, the nether parts of both proper, finned gold." References
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