Newport

History

Newport was located in the historic kingdom of Mercia, near where Wreocensæte was once situated. Humans inhabited the surrounding area long before the creation of the town. Once established, Newport became a market town in the centre of the rural farming area between Stafford and Shrewsbury. In Saxon times, there were two settlements in the area. The first, Eastun, has been identified as Church Aston, and the second was Plaesc which is now Newport. In AD 963, Plaesc was described as having a High Street, a stone quarry, and a religious community. The name Plaesc means a shallow pool. Few signs of the Saxon settlement exist today, apart from the High Street, the Quarry, which could be either the Quarry on Stafford Road, or the Hole Meadow on Wellington Road. This has not been definitely confirmed. At the time of the Norman Conquest, the land where Newport sits formed part of the manor of Edgmond, which William I gave as a gift along with the county of Shropshire to Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I founded the borough, first called Newborough, after the manor came into his hands from Robert de Belesme. Newport was omitted from the Domesday Book of 1086, but this is not uncommon. Other towns omitted include London, Tamworth and Ludlow, all boroughs since Saxon times. The Normans planned the new town around the older one during the reign of Henry I. The wide main street was designed for its market, and the narrow burgage plots running at right angles to it are typical of Norman architecture and planning, though today only Newport Guildhall and Smallwood Lodge are clear signs of Tudor buildings, due to the 1665 fire which destroyed most of the High Street. Medieval Newport flourished with trade in leather, wool and fish. Novoportans possessed the right to provide…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,936
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,026
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,842
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,788
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,673
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,629
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,600
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,265

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2023-06-28
  2 km SE of Cheadle, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2022-05-30
  2 km ESE of Prees, United Kingdom
• M 3.2 — 2022-02-21
  5 km N of Hockley, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2014-10-28
  2 km NNE of Hucknall, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2013-01-18
  0 km NE of Hathern, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2008-10-26
  2 km N of Bromyard, United Kingdom