Newport is a market town in Shropshire, England, some 6 miles north of Telford. It lies near to the border with the county of Staffordshire.

Attractions

• The church of St Nicholas is Early English and Perpendicular.
• There is an ancient market cross, greatly decayed, called the "Buttercross".
• A literary institute.
• A selective girls' school (Newport Girls' High School )
• A free grammar school (Adams' Grammar School) founded in 1656 by Haberdasher William Adams.
• The ruins of Lilleshall Abbey are to be found four miles to the south. They include a fine Norman west door and part of the front, considerable remains of the church besides, and traces of domestic buildings. The abbey was founded in 1145, under charter from King Stephen, by Richard de Baumes or Belmeis, dean of St Alkmund , Shrewsbury, for Augustinian canons, who were brought from Dorchester Abbey , Oxfordshire.

History

Newport is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey, but at the time of the Conquest formed part of the manor of Edgmond, which William I gave with the rest of the county of Shropshire to Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I is supposed to have founded the borough, at first called New Borough, after the manor had come into his hands through the forfeiture of Robert de Belesme.

The site was probably chosen partly on account of the fisheries, which are mentioned in the Domesday Survey, one of the chief services of the burgesses being that of taking fish to the king's court wherever it might be. This custom was continued after Henry III had granted the borough with the manor of Edgmond, to Henry de Audley, but in the middle of the 13th century James, son of Henry de Audley, granted that the burgesses need not take the fish anywhere except within the county of Shropshire.

The burgesses must have received certain privileges from Henry I, since Henry II in an undated charter granted them all the liberties, rights and customs which they had in the time of Henry I. This probably included a gild merchant which is mentioned in the Quo Warranto Rolls as one of the privileges claimed by the burgesses. Confirmation charters were granted by Edward I in 1287 and Edward II in 1311, while the town was incorporated in 1551 by Edward VI, whose charter was confirmed by James I in 1604. The governing body consisted of a high steward, deputy steward, two water-bailiffs and 28 burgesses, but the corporation was abolished by the Municipal Corporation Act of 1883 , and a Local Board was formed, which, under the Local Government Act, gave place in 1894 to an urban district council .

Modern day Newport

The town now lies in the borough and unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin. The A41 runs by the town on a new by-pass and the A518 runs through the town from Stafford-Telford. The railway which once ran from Wellington to Stafford, through Newport, has now been dismantled. The canal is also now out of use.

External link

• Newport Community Page