In the 15th century Newport was not a customs port, and
information on its early maritime history is scarce. The
first settlement on Stow Hill was above the River Usk and
a new castle had to be built to protect the river crossing
and the port once the new town developed.
The core of the medieval town was split in two by the town
pill, and a map of
1752 by Thomas Thorpe shows the "key" was
at the entrance of the pill, on its south bank. The pill
may even have been navigable for small boats as far as the
West Gate, since in 1928 part of what were thought to be
a rudder and a rib from a barge, together with 14th century
pottery were found during building work for the National
Provincial Bank (now NatWest).
The River Usk has a great tidal variation and ships would
have moored at the town quay on the town pill (or by the
riverbank or in the tidal creeks) on the high tide. There
they would remain stranded until the following high tide.
The Usk served not only the port of Newport but also the
medieval port of Caerleon, four miles up river. The Cistercian
Abbey at Llantarnum also had its own landing stage at Pill
Mawr, between Newport and Caerleon, where it could export
wool or other goods. At one time the river was navigable
beyond the town of Usk and as late as 1801 William Coxe
refers to the tide flowing to Tredunnoc, where timber was
conveyed in barges to Caerleon and Newport.
Much more is known about medieval maritime trade in South
Wales as a whole. Trade in the Severn would have been dominated
in by Bristol. Many of the Welsh ports, including Newport
and Caerleon, sent wool, hides and cloth to Bristol in small
boats. 'Staple Ports' such as Bristol and Carmarthen were
responsible for the collection of custom dues on the export
of certain goods, including wool. These were known as "staples".
The Abbot of Tintern was a member of the staple in Bristol
and "Welsh cloth" provided russet for poor folk
in Bristol. Chepstow was included in the headport of Bristol
from September 1346 and Chepstow merchants exported cloth
to Spain and Portugal during the reign of Richard II. In
1386 wheat from Newport, Bristol and Chepstow was exported
"in a Spanish ship" to support John of Gaunt in
an expedition to Castille. The major import during the autumn
was the wine trade from Bordeaux and Gascony. However with
the loss of Bordeaux as an English possession in 1453 this
trade suffered severely.
For the rest of South Wales, apart from Chepstow, the staple
port for the collection of customs was at Carmarthen, which
was made the sole staple for Wales in 1353. In 1397 John
Banham, burgess of Newport-on-Usk, was shipping wool through
the Carmarthen staple. Some Newport ships are known. In
1440 a ship called the Swan had its home port at Newport.
In 1461 the Trinity of Newport was taking cloth from Bristol
to Ireland, and in 1480 the Christopher of Newport was carrying
fish from Ireland to Bristol.
The accounts for the repairs to Newport Castle show that
in 1447 stone was shipped to Newport from Bristol and Penarth.
They also show that the stone was landed at "the south
end of the Shirehall". The location of the medieval
Shirehall is not known but this suggests it may have been
near the town quay. There are other references to the "Cinderhill",
and Cinderhill Wharf was still in existence in the 20th
century, close to where the medieval quay once was.
©
Bob Trett 2007
