Newport City Council - Municipal History

Municipal History

Newport is an ancient mesne borough, occupying an important position on the Welsh Marches. The town grew up round the castle built early in the 12th century. Giraldus Cambrensis, writing in 1187, calls it Novus Burgus, probably to distinguish it from Caerleon, whose prosperity declined as that of Newport increased. The first lord was Robert Fitzhamon, who died in 1107, and from him the lordship passed to the Earls of Gloucester and Stafford and the Dukes of Buckingham. Hugh le Despenser, who held the lordship for a short time, obtained in 1323 a charter of liberties for the burgesses, granting them freedom from toll throughout England, Ireland and Aquitaine. Hugh, Earl of Stafford granted a further charter in 1385, confirmed by his grandson in 1427, which gave the burgesses the right of self-government and of a merchant gild. On the attainder of the Duke of Buckingham in 1483 the lordship lapsed to the crown, of whom it was held in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Pembrokes, and in the 19th by the Beauforts.

The town was incorporated by Royal Charter of James I in 1623 and confirmed by Charles II in 1685. This created a Corporation which consisted of a mayor and twelve aldermen who governed the Borough and were responsible for law and order. They were assisted by a Recorder and two Bailiffs. This system of government lasted in essence until the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. This reconstituted the Corporation as an elected Borough Council, comprising a mayor, aldermen and councillors. The Newport Borough Police were formed a year later.

During the 19th century the Borough grew in size from 239 acres (1 km2) to 4,924 acres (20 km2) by taking in parts of the surrounding parishes of St. Woolos, Christchurch and Nash.

When modern local government was introduced by the Local Government Act 1888 it was one of the first places to become a county borough (in 1891), and thus became administratively independent of Monmouthshire. This situation persisted until 1974 when, due to local government reorganisation and the abolition of county boroughs, it became a non-metropolitan borough, along with a large increase in its borders to 46,976 acres (190 km2). In 1996, another wave of local-government reorganisation reverted the council to its previous status of a county borough. In 2002 it was granted formal city status.