Newport
Bridge has stood on approximately the same site since a
bridge was first built, probably in the 12th century. The
original bridge would have been built of timber - there
was no stone bridge until 1800 AD, when William Coxe noted
it was under construction.
Before
the bridge was built there may have been a ferry crossing
- but the depth of tidal mud almost certainly precludes
the possibility of there having ever been a ford. The lowest
point down river where it is now possible to ford the river
at low tide with any degree of safety is to the north of
Caerleon Bridge. The river level and the river course have
fluctuated over the centuries, but there is a narrowing
of the Usk valley at Newport Bridge, so that the river would
have always remained fixed at this point.
To
the east of Newport Bridge a ridge of land from the direction
of Christchurch Village slopes down to the river. A Roman
road from Caerwent to Caerleon would have left this ridge
on the east side of Christchurch, but after the building
of Newport Bridge in the Middle Ages the road through Christchurch
would have been an important route across South Wales between
Chepstow, Newport and on to Cardiff and West Wales.
To
the west of Newport Bridge the land gradually rises along
Newport High Street, and rises more steeply up Stow Hill.
The low level of the road up Stow Hill compared to the houses
on the west side of the road is indicative of an ancient
road or trackway. In the Middle Ages the road appears to
have split west of St Woolos. One route went down the hillside
towards a crossing of the Ebbw River and then on to Cardiff.
The other route headed along the Stow Hill ridge and on
towards Bassaleg and Caerphilly. These routes can be seen
on early 19th century maps of the area.
There
is no evidence that the main Roman road across South Wales
(later referred to as the Julia Strata) ever crossed the
river at the site of Newport Bridge, and the obvious route
was for it to cross the river at Caerleon. In 1910 the Newport
historian James Matthews (i) repeated a claim made by earlier
antiquarians that in 918 AD a battle was fought between
the Welsh and the Saxons at a ford across the River Usk
at Newport. This is based on a brief mention in the Welsh
chronicle Brut y Twysogion that in about that year
"the action of Dinas Newydd had taken place" but
there is nothing to link Dinas Newydd (New Fort) with the
later Newport.
Possibly
the earliest record relating to the bridge is in a grant
of 20 acres near the bridge of Novi Burgi (Newport) and
near the River Usk to the monastery of St Peter at Gloucester.
This grant was made sometime between 1072 and 1104 AD. There
is also a reference to a bridge at Newport in 1185 AD when
the Pipe Rolls (the annual audited accounts of the king)
have a reference to repairs of a bridge at Novi Burgi. After
that there are a number of references to the bridge, and
in 1418 AD Bishop Edmund Lacy of Hereford was offering an
indulgence (i.e. remission of punishment due for sin) for
anyone who contributed towards the repair of the fabric
of the bridge.
In
1486/7 there was a ferry across the river whilst a new bridge
was being built and John Leland mentions the wooden bridge
over the river some time after 1533 (ii).
Newport
Bridge was the key to controlling traffic up the river and
crossing through south Wales. It would have limited the
size of ships going to Caerleon - ultimately ensuring Newport's
pre-eminence in the area.
(i) James Matthews Historic Newport (1910)
(ii) More details of the bridge are given by A.C. Reeves
Newport Lordship 1317-1536 (1979) pages 113-115
©
Bob Trett 2007
