Bishton or Bishopston ( or simply ''Trefesgob'') is a small rural
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in the east of the city of
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
* Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...
, South
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It lies in the
Llanwern
Llanwern is a village and community in the eastern part of the city of Newport, South East Wales. The name may be translated as "the church among the grove of the alders".
Location and populace
Llanwern is bounded by the M4 and Langstone t ...
electoral district (ward) and contains the eastern end of
Llanwern steelworks
Llanwern steelworks is located in Llanwern, east of the City of Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales.
History
Built for Richard Thomas and Baldwins, Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd, the works was originally referred to locally as "The RTB", bef ...
, the
Underwood Underwood may refer to:
People
*Underwood (surname), people with the surname
Places
Australia
*Underwood, Queensland, a suburb of Logan City, Australia
*Underwood, Tasmania, a locality
United Kingdom
*Underwood, Devon, a List of United Kingdom ...
estate as well as Bishton itself. The population in the 2001 census was 2,181; dropping to 2,137 in 2011.
History
The earliest record is from the ''Liber Landavensis'' (12th century) which states that Guidnerth was pardoned three years after killing his brother Merchion and was granted the land and woods from the coastline of Llangadwaladr to St. Cadwaladr's church in a charter witnessed by Bishop Berthguinus sometime around the year 700.
The name is said to derive from "Bishop's Town", as the village has been alleged to be the sometime home of the
Bishops of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.
Area of authority
The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...
.
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...
destroyed the palaces at Bishton and Llandaff, from which time the episcopal palace was moved to
Mathern
Mathern (; older form: ) is a village, community, and historic parish in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn Estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 motorway. The village is designated ...
. Bishop John Pascall died here of the plague in 1361.
The remains of Bishton Castle, on raised ground located by a farm to the west of Bishton Road, are a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
.
St Cadwaladr's church
The dedication of Bishton church to
Cadwaladr
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 664 or 682. He died in one of two devastating plagues that happened in 664 and in 682. Little else is known of his reig ...
is one of only two known instances, the other being in
Llangadwaladr
Llangadwaladr () is a small village in south-west Anglesey, Wales, located around 2 miles east of Aberffraw and 3 miles south of Gwalchmai. It is part of the community of Bodorgan.
Early medieval Kings
The '' Catamanus stone'' has been pres ...
in Anglesey, though
St Mary's Church, Magor may also have been originally dedicated to him. Cadwaladr was the final Welsh
King of Britain
There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personal union since 24 March 1603; while the style, "King of Great Britain" fi ...
, dying in AD 664, according to
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...
.
[ The church site has a familiar circular Celtic llan but the building dates from the early English period.]perpendicular
In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟠...
church was badly damaged in 1760 when the tower collapsed. Restoration followed, and in the 19th century the porch was added. Some windows date from the 18th century, but many are later, from the Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
. The later tower, with one bell, was completed in 1887 in the Victorian Gothic Style by John Prichard
John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales.
Personal history
John Prichard ...
. The origins of the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
arch are unclear while the font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
is 14th century and the stoup is 15th century. The east stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
window is from 1915.listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
in 1963.
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
remained the language of church services at Bishton until 1828. Sunday Worship is held at 11.00 am, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays.[ The church is subject to a gateway grant from the ]National Churches Trust
The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British Charitable organization#United Kingdom, registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community ...
. In 2020 the need for restoration work primarily to the tower, was highlighted. A project will develop repair proposals and will include an ecology survey.
Government
The area is governed by the Newport City Council
Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the principal areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards.
The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...
and the Bishton community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
.
References
External links
St Cadwaladr's Church, Bishton
at coflein.gov.uk
Photos of Bishton and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{authority control
Communities in Newport, Wales
Villages in Newport, Wales