Newport Castle
The first castle built in Newport is not the one we are familiar with today on the banks of the River Usk, but a wooden castle built by Robert Fitzhamon in the early twelfth century. This castle was of the Motte and Bailey type, where the Motte was a large man made mound with a flat top on which a tower surrounded by a stockade was built, and the bailey was an enclosure at ground level. The mound survived as a local landmark until the 1840’s when it was buried under the spoil created during the excavation of the railway tunnel. The area is now occupied by the houses of Stow Park Avenue.
The exact date of construction of the present castle is not known but probably took place during the mid Fourteenth Century following the emergence of Gwynllwg as a separate lordship under Hugh d’Audele in 1327. At this time the castle would have served as the administrative centre and the seat of government for the Lordship where justice would have been dispensed and taxes raised.
The vaulted chamber in the Central Tower |
Newport Castle itself is of a relatively simple design, the most important rooms being contained in the three towers within the Eastern Wall, which remain in place today. The most imposing of the three is the Central Tower which consists of a water gate and above that a vaulted chamber. The water gate would have allowed a vessel direct access to the castle, entry being controlled by a portcullis. The vaulted chamber above would have been used as the state apartment where the Lord would sit on formal occasions. The two storey North Tower is architecturally the simplest of the three and was probably the lodgings of an official of the lordship. |
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The Southern Tower was joined to the Central Tower by a covered passageway within the curtain wall and served as the residence of the Lord of the Castle. The remainder of the castle on the landward side consisted of only a single curtain wall, surrounded by a ditch which would have flooded at high tide. |
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Upon the death of Hugh d’Audele in 1347 the Lordship and the castle passed into the hands of the Stafford Family, in whose possession they remained until 1521. In that year the Third Duke of Buckingham, the title had been granted to the Stafford Family in 1444, was beheaded by Henry VIII for disloyalty and the castle and lands retained by the Crown.
Following Henry VIII’s death in 1547 possession of the castle was granted to William Herbert, later Earl of Pembroke, who in turn leased it to his relative William Herbert of St Julian’s in 1578. As a condition of the lease agreement William Herbert had to keep the castle in repair but he never chose to live there himself. The castle did not play any part in the Civil War and was ignored by King Charles who preferred to stay in a private residence when he visited Newport in 1645.
Newport Castle and the Town Bridge, circa 1775
In 1710 the castle again changed owners when the Herbert Family leased it to Thomas Morgan of Ruperra and by the mid Eighteenth Century the castle had fallen into a largely ruined state. For the rest of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries the story is one of continual decline as the castle was utilised in a variety of ways to satisfy the needs of the rapidly expanding population of Newport. In 1792 the Western Ditch became the line of the Monmouthshire Canal and between 1805 and 1858 much of the Bailey Wall was demolished and removed. In the early nineteenth century a tanyard was operating in the castle bailey and in 1820 a brewery was established in the Eastern wall buildings, which continued operating until 1899.
By 1935 the remaining castle had been placed into the care of the Office of Works who began conservation work to make the medieval structure safe and remove all traces of work associated with the Brewery.
Newport Castle, 2007
These web pages were written using material held in the Local Studies Collection at Newport Central Library, including:
Knight, Jeremy K. Newport Castle. In Monmouthshire Antiquary VII (1991) (M160 728.81 KNI)
Office of Works. Newport Castle, Monmouthshire. Report Upon the Present Condition of the Ruins and Reccomendations for their Preservation, 1924. (M160 728.81 OFF)
Newport Castle: A Newport Museum and Art Gallery Information Sheet (pfM160 728.81 NEW)
If you wish to learn more about the history of the Castle, or any other aspect of Newport’s history, visit us at the Central Reference Library where staff will be happy to assist you. We can also be contacted by telephone on 01633 656656 or email at reference.library@newport.gov.uk