The
Newport Castle surviving today consists of the east range
which faced the river. Originally there would have been
a curtain wall, roughly rectangular in plan, behind the
east range. There would also have been a surrounding moat
with presumably drawbridges for entrances that were on the
north and south sides. This stone castle is believed to
date to the 14th and 15th centuries.
The
east range was the most impressive part of the castle, with
three towers linked by straight walls, the main hall, a
water gate, a vaulted audience chamber, and a kitchen block.
The north tower has two stories on a solid square base,
and is thought to have been the quarters of the constable
or steward of the castle. This tower was attached to the
hall which stood at first floor level over a vaulted cellar
or undercroft. Very little now survives apart from two windows
and part of the fireplace in the eastern/riverside wall.
There was a chamber between the hall and the central tower,
with a spiral staircase attached to the corner of the tower.
The
central tower is the largest tower. It contained an impressive
vaulted chamber over a water-gate allowing ships direct
access to the castle. Above the vaulted chamber there may
have once been a chapel. The vaulted roof of the chamber
has a central boss with a 'Tudor' rose, although it could
predate the Tudor dynasty. It would have been used for important
occasions and meetings. To the south of the central tower
was a smaller room, probably the withdrawing room for the
lord, as a gallery then leads to the south tower, which
is where the lord of Newport would have stayed on his visits
to Newport. The kitchens are thought to have been behind
the gallery. A full description of the castle is given by
Jeremy Knight in The Monmouthshire Antiquary Volume VII
(1991).
The castle was the administrative centre for the lordship
of Newport and in its heyday it would have dominated the
view around Newport. However there is uncertainty about
when this castle was built, and whether the earlier Newport
Castle that was known to have existed was on the same site.
It is recorded in the Welsh Brut Y Tywysogion that
in about 1172 AD King Henry II visited Castell Newyd
ar Uysc (New Castle on the River Usk). In 1185 the king's
accounts show that six pounds fourteen shillings and sixpence
were spent on repairs to the castle of Novi Burgi (i.e.
Newport) and its buildings and bridge. This does not sound
like the motte or castle mound known to have existed on
Stow Hill which was outside the borough's boundaries, and
it is unclear how the bridge or town could have been properly
defended if there was no castle close to it.
There
are various references in the 13th and 14th centuries to
Newport Castle and town, including details of a siege in
1321 by Hugh Audley and other lords. The damage was so bad
that in 1322 an order was given for 300 oaks "fit for
timber" to be felled to repair and construct the houses
and fortalices (outworks) within the castle. This would
seem to suggest that at this time the castle may have been
constructed of timber, but the reference does not specifically
refer to the main castle itself, where presumably the structure
survived the assault.
The
first plan surviving of the castle is on a town map of 1750
( click
here to view ), where the curtain wall is shown,
but the main buildings on the riverfront are shown out of
the correct alignment. A plan for William Coxe's A History
of Monmouthshire in 1800 ( click
here to view ) appears to have been based on
this plan since it shows the same mistake. In 1885 Octavius
Morgan published a
surveyed plan of what then existed in Archaeologia
Cambrensis and up to date plans were published by Jeremy
Knight in 1991.
The
archaeological evidence largely consists of a coin of Edward
III excavated in 1834, and some roofing slate and some 15th
or 16th century pottery excavated in 1970. Architecturally
the surviving castle does not appear to be any earlier than
the 14th century, but it seems clear that the present castle
is the same castle that was severely damaged by Owain Glyndwr
in 1403. After this attack there are good documentary records
showing work on the castle. In 1405 emergency work was carried
the castle ditch, the gatehouse, and the "Great Tower".
In 1427 the lord, Humphrey earl of Stafford, granted Newport
a new charter at the castle. In 1465 work was being carried
out on the south tower, and in 1447 and 1448 work was being
carried on the castle chambers and the north curtain wall.
The
possibility of the north curtain wall being part of a town
wall is discussed elsewhere (click
here), but there were clearly different building
periods to the castle. The relationship of the town to the
castle is also a matter of debate, with many references
to the great bailey and the small bailey within the town.
Other
documentary evidence to the surrounds of the castle include
a building called "the long stables" outside the
castle gate in 1452, the rabbit warren in 1484, and various
references to the castle green which appears to have been
on the north, west and south side of the curtain walls.
By the end of the 15th century the castle appears to have
been neglected and a survey of 1522 refers to "a fair
hall, proper lodgings after the waterside, and many houses
of offices; howbeit, in manner, all is decayed in coverings
and floors, specially of timber work." The later history
of the castle is outside the scope of this survey.
©
Bob Trett 2007
[
Newport Castle Chronological Chart and
References ]
