Volume 1, Number 37
Offensive smells in Baneswell, improvements to roads in 1851, the Steam Packet bell, throwing snow balls in Llanarth Street, stealing a rabbit from the Coldra estate and trespassing at Brynhyfryd.
Uncovering Newport's interesting past
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The Newport Clothing Club
The Newport Clothing Club of the 1840s was run by women, combining penny savings and philanthropy to keep working families warm.
The Old English Fayre, 1882
The Old English Fair at Newport’s Albert Hall turned the hall into a Tudor-style street with stalls, music, and performances to raise funds for the Infirmary and Free Library. Opened by the Duke of Beaufort, it drew huge crowds, with costumed volunteers and lively attractions boosting local support.
Chartist Meeting of Victoria Square, 1840
Almost a year after the Newport Uprising took place on November 4th, 1839, two men from Bath held an open air meeting about the People's Charter in Baneswell. With outdoor meetings being restricted, the two men were apprehended shortly after and taken to court.
Ye Olde Newport Bazaar, 1922
The Tabernacle Centenary Bazaar was a grand event which took place at the Drill Hall, Stow Hill in 1922 and featured a recreation of the Newport High Street in 1822 complete with the names of all the shops and offices.
The Great Van Amburgh Menagerie
In September 1842, an American animal trainer arrived in Newport as part of his Welsh tour. He displayed an elephant, Bengal tiger, lion and several leopards in a field off Caerleon Road near Clarence Place.
Mr Cornwall's Royal Olympic Circus
In 1842, Mr Cornwall's Royal Olympic Circus visited Newport and over the period of around a month entertained residents of Newport including the Morgan's at an arena in Clarence Place.
The First Motor Car In Newport
On Tuesday 24th November, 1896 a Benz motor car was exhibited at the Tredegar Show and it may have been the first car to appear in Newport.
Fire-Eater Visits Newport
For six decades Robert Powell toured the country with his fire eating show where he would eat hot coals as if they were bread, eat a soup of brimstone and lead and even broil beef over a hot coal on his tongue. In 1753 and 1766 he visited the King's Head in Newport.
1731: When Caerleon's Bull Inn had a Bowling Green
Back in 1731, an advertisement for the Bull Inn, Caerleon mentions a bowling green being available, but where exactly was it?
Newport Charter of 1711
A detailed charter of 1711 describing how food should be sold at markets, requirements for going to church on a Sunday, looking after your hedges and paths and brewing small beer for the poor.
When Miniature Golf Arrived in Newport
The Miniature Golf craze reached Newport in 1930 with the launch of an outdoor course and two indoor courses with the space of a few months. Here's the brief history of their arrival.
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1731: When Caerleon's Bull Inn had a Bowling Green
Back in 1731, an advertisement for the Bull Inn, Caerleon mentions a bowling green being available, but where exactly was it?
Letting Newport Castle in 1797
An advertisement posted in 1797 offering to let Newport Castle. Contains information on the different buildings and their dimensions.
18th Century Miscellany — 1730-1749
Stolen horses, mentions of early pubs, houses for sale, the cattle market, the Sea Wall being breached, town and Caerleon bridges brought down by ice, cock fighting and a school in need of a headmaster.
Volume 1, Number 10
A complaint about a muddy Maindee street, Valentine's Day dying out, baptising in the river Ebbw, a complaint about those who drop orange and banana peels and sparing a thought for those who can't pronounce street names.
Newport Charter of 1711
A detailed charter of 1711 describing how food should be sold at markets, requirements for going to church on a Sunday, looking after your hedges and paths and brewing small beer for the poor.
Volume 1, Number 9
Planting potatoes in town, throwing cardboard, stealing ham, the finest strawberries and an 11-year-old imprisoned and whipped for stealing coal.
