Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

, Wales. It lies on the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

in the community of

Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn ( Welsh: ''Y Drenewydd a Llanllwchaearn'') is a local government community in mid Powys, Wales. It includes the town of Newtown and the small neighbouring village of Llanllwchaiarn. At the time of the 2011 census the p ...

, within the historic boundaries of

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

. It was designated a

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in 1967 and saw population growth as firms settled, changing its

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

character. Its 2001 population of 10,780 rose to 11,357 at the 2011 census.City Population site. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
/ref> Newtown was the birthplace of

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh people, Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditio ...

in 1771, whose house stood on the present site of the HSBC Bank.Biograph
Retrieved 15 September 2018.
/ref> The town has a theatre, Theatr Hafren,Theatre sit
Retrieved 15 September 2018.
/ref> and a public gallery, Oriel Davies, displaying contemporary arts and crafts.Gallery sit
Retrieved 15 September 2018.
/ref> It is the largest town in Powys and Mid Wales.

Etymology

Both the English and Welsh names for the town mean "new town", the Welsh version with addition of the definite article.

History

At the end of the 13th century,

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

commissioned Roger de Montgomerie to construct a centre for the hamlet of Llanfair-yng-Nghedewain. Being situated near a

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

ford below the Long Bridge and close to the church of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

in Bettws Cedewain gave Newtown its original Welsh name. The foundation is connected to the fate of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd,

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

, whose new administrative centre at Dolforwyn Castle near

Abermule Abermule ( cy, Aber-miwl) is a village lying on the River Severn 6 km (4 miles) northeast of Newtown in Powys, mid Wales. The A483 Swansea to Chester trunk road, the Cambrian Line railway, connecting Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury, and the Mo ...

so alarmed Edward I that it was besieged. He seized Llywelyn's lands and granted them to the Mortimers. They transferred the administration of the ''

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which wer ...

'' of Cedewain and the ''

commote A commote ( Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wale ...

'' of Ceri from Dolforwyn Castle to the new settlement at Newtown. Newtown (1293382)

The town grew in the 18th and 19th centuries around the

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

and flannel industry, stimulated by completion of the Montgomeryshire Canal. In 1838, the town saw Wales's first Chartist demonstration. The

Cambrian Mills The Cambrian Mills was a complex of woollen mill buildings in Newtown, Powys, Wales, that operated from 1856 to 1912, when they were destroyed by fire. At one time the mill complex was the largest woollen daddy in Wales. The mills owed their succ ...

, opened in 1856, were the first steam-driven mills in Newtown. The mills stood beside the canal terminus on the east bank of the Severn. They expanded to become the largest of the Welsh woollen mills. However, by the end of the 19th century the Newtown mills were no longer competitive with those in the north of England. There was a disastrous fire in 1910 and another in 1912, after which the Cambrian Mills were not rebuilt. Thereafter Newtown was no longer an important centre of the woollen industry and many workers moved elsewhere. Newtown hosted the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

in 1965. In 1967, the town was designated a

. It saw a large population growth as firms and people settled, changing its

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...

character.

Population

The population of Newtown appears to have peaked in 2011, when the census recorded 11,357 inhabitants, as against 10,780 ten years earlier. The estimated population in 2018 was 11,300, with 51.3 per cent female and 48.7 per cent male.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Newtown, at

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

(town) and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

level:

Town Council (often abbreviated to Newtown Town Council) and

Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Gover ...

. The two parishes of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn were governed by a single local board from 1866. Such local boards became urban district councils under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, and the Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Urban District Council went on to govern the town from 1894 until 1974. In 1974 all urban districts were abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, with most of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Urban District Council's functions passing to

Montgomeryshire District Council , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

. At the same time a community was established covering the area of the former urban district, with its council taking the name Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council. Further local government reorganisation took place across Wales in 1996, when Montgomeryshire District Council was abolished and its functions passed to Powys County Council. The Town Council has 16 elected members serving five-year terms, and employs a staff of about ten. It deals mainly with green spaces and public facilities, and as a representative voice for Newtown. The Council Chair or Mayor, elected by the councillors, has been Councillor John Byrne since May 2022. The community is represented on

by five county councillors, each representing a ward:

Newtown Central Newtown Central was the name of a county electoral ward in the town of Newtown, Powys, Wales. It remains as a community ward to Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council. Description Newtown Central ward covered the area west of Newtown town c ...

, Newtown East, Newtown Llanllwchaiarn West, Newtown Llanllwchaiarn West and Newtown South.

Geography

Newtown lies about 8 miles (13 km) from the Wales-England border, in the narrow valley of the River Severn, which restricts development north and south of the town. It is surrounded by small villages, often referred to collectively as the Newtown area. The Newtown post town area, including the villages, has a population approaching 16,000. The villages include Aberhafesp,

Adfa The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Au ...

, Bettws Cedewain, Bwlch-y-ffridd, Cefn-gwyn, Dolfor,

Glanmule Glanmule (Welsh: ''Glan-miwl'') is a small village in the north of Powys, Wales. It is located in Montgomeryshire, approximately 2.5 miles to the east of Newtown. It stands at the junction of the B4368 and A489 roads, two miles from the Welsh- ...

, Kerry, Llanllwchaiarn, Llanwyddelan, Mochdre, New Mills,

Pentre Pentre is a village, community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as homestead, though ...

, Rhydlydan, Sarn and

Tregynon Tregynon is a small village and Community (Wales), community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, to the north of Newtown, Powys, Newtown and south west of Welshpool. The population of the community was 892 at the 2011 Census. It rests on the B438 ...

Buildings and monuments

Built by Pryce Pryce-Jones, the Pryce Jones Royal Welsh Warehouse remains the tallest building in Newtown. The two towering structures housed the world's first mail order service depot. Bear Lanes, the town's main shopping centre, has a Tudor-style entrance. The building was once a hotel, ''The Bear'', which contributes to the centre's appearance today. The Robert Owen Museum is on the ground floor of the council offices in Brisco House, Broad Street. A statue of

was erected in 1956 in a park off Shortbridge Street and Gas Street. A replica of this was later erected in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. The Free Library building designed by the architect Frank Shayler of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

was built in 1902. The Baptist Chapel, dating from 1881, is a fine example of nonconformist architecture from that period. The Back Lane drill hall was completed in 1897.

Theatres, museums and galleries

*Theatr Hafren – a 555-seat venue *Powys Theatre – home of the Newtown Amateur Dramatic Society *

Museum *Textile Museum *

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...

Museum (above the shop) *Oriel Davies – largest visual arts venue in the region

Transport

Newtown's station is on the

–

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...

line served by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) cons ...

. Trains run about once in two hours. Local bus services in and around the town are operated by local, privately owned companies:

Tanat Valley Coaches Tanat Valley Coaches operates bus and coach services in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, in the United Kingdom. The family-run firm is based in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant.Minsterley Motors Minsterley Motors is a bus and coach operator in Shropshire, England. The company's main operations concentrate on stage service and schools contract work for Shropshire Council. It also provides transport for the Shropshire Schools & Colleges F ...

, and Owen's Travelmaster. Newtown has one National Express bus per day in each direction, to Aberystwyth and to London. Newtown has one TrawsCymru route to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and a TrawsCymru Connect to Machynlleth and to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. Two major roads meet at Newtown: the A483 from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and the A489 from Machynlleth to Craven Arms. The bypass to the south of Newtown opened on 14 February 2019, having been planned since 1949. The Montgomery Canal terminated in Newtown. After its closure in 1944, the Newtown section was sold for building land, but it gave its name to Canal Road and Lower Canal Road.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

* Les Herbiers,

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Notable people

(1771–1858), social reformer and a founder of

Utopian socialism Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often ...

and the Co-operative Movement. * John Bentley (1822–1894), member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

* Pryce Pryce-Jones (1834–1920), mail-order entrepreneur born at Llanllwchaiarn, near Newtown * Geraint Goodwin (1903–1941), novelist and short story writer in English, born in Llanllwchaiarn, near Newtown

Sport

* George Latham (1881–1939), international footballer * Harry Beadles (1897–1958), Welsh international footballer, born in Llanllwchaiarn, near Newtown * James Crisp (1927–2005), cricketer * Barry Hoban (born 1940), professional cyclist with several stage wins in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Philip Parkin Andrew Philip Parkin (born 12 December 1961) is a Welsh professional golfer who has also worked as a golf commentator and analyst. Parkin was born in Doncaster, England, and raised in Newtown, Powys. He attended Texas A&M University in the ...

(born 1961), professional golfer and commentator *

Phil Mills Phil Mills (born 30 August 1963) is a Welsh rally racing co-driver. He was winner of the 2003 World Rally Championship (WRC), as co-driver to Petter Solberg. Mills was born in Trefeglwys, Powys. He has a place in the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame ...

(born 1963),

World Rally The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and te ...

Championship winning co-driver

Sports

Newtown A.F.C. Newtown Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Y Drenewydd) is a Welsh football club based in Newtown, Powys, which plays in the Cymru Premier. Newtown are one of only two clubs that can claim unbroken membership of the league since ...

is Newtown's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club, and a founding member of the Welsh Premier League in 1992. The club was founded in 1875 as Newtown White Stars and won the Welsh FA Cup in 1879 and 1895. It also entered the qualifying stages of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

on three occasions. The club plays at Latham Park. This has a capacity of 5,000 (1,750 seated) and a full UEFA licence, allowing under-21 international games and European games to be played. In 2007, another 250-seat stand was built next to the media gantry. Further developments are planned. Newtown RFC is the town's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club, established in 1925. It currently fields first, second, third, youth and junior teams. Newtown has facilities for lawn bowls, cricket, and for tennis. A

basketball club Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, the Newtown Titans was set up in 2005, before being reconstituted as Mid-Wales Basketball Club in 2009.

Education

The Newtown schools are Ysgol Cedewain (special needs), Ladywell Green (ages 4–7), Hafren Junior (7–11), Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd (4–11), St Mary's (4–11), Penygloddfa (4–11), Maesyrhandir (4-11), Treowen (4–11), and Newtown High School and Sixth Form (11–18). The last recently received an outstanding Estyn inspection report in October 2015, praising many features, including teacher/sixth-form pupil relations and school support for a wide range of post-16 vocational and academic subjects. As of 2011, it was proposed that Newtown High School, along with several other schools in Powys, should merge with another county high school, as part of Powys County Council's secondary school and post-16 modernisation programme.Powys CC plan
Retrieved 15 September 2018.
/ref>

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Populated places on the River Severn Towns in Powys New towns in Wales Towns of the Welsh Marches New towns started in the 1960s