Newport is a County Borough ( Pop. 137,000) in South Wales on the Usk, 4 miles above its junction with the Severn. It has extensive docking facilities. Newport Docks have undergone a transformation in the last two years, and are now comparable with some of the best in Europe. A £6.5 million improvement scheme has expanded the range of business it can offer and marks the resurgence as a major port. Now a high tech industrial area, it was historically one of the chief coal and iron exporting points in Great Britain. It is also important for the manufacture of tin plate, iron, steel, other metal goods and chemicals.
The church of St Woolos, partly Norman, was made the procathedral of Monmouth diocese in 1921, and stands on Stow Hill above the town. In 1839 Newport was the scene of the Chartist riots. The Chartist movement was a political reform movement, one of its main aims being to obtain suffrage for all male citizens 21 years and over.
Newport is set on the western bank of the Severn Estuary with the famous River Usk flowing through its centre. It's at the eastern end of the major South Wales business community and the closest Welsh commercial centre to England and Europe. The town is between the gentle rolling hills of Monmouthshire and the historical Welsh mining valleys. It is an expanding tourist area with world famous attractions such as the Wye Valley, Tintern Abbey and the Welsh capital Cardiff within thirty minutes drive. Many tourists are drawn to the town for its Roman heritage.
Newport is 140 miles from London, 15 from Cardiff and 30 from Bristol. There is a high speed rail route to the Channel Tunnel and Europe via London. The site of the new LG investment is Imperial Park, which is regarded as one of the United Kingdom's leading business environments. It is the home of the international research centre for the Imperial College London.
The M4 Motorway runs through the County Borough giving direct links to all major centres in Britain and via the Channel Tunnel into Europe. London is two and a half hours' drive, Birmingham is a little over one hour. Newport is greatly benefiting from the opening of the Second Severn Crossing which gives immediate access to the M4 investment corridor stretching west from London and opens up large parts of the South West of England via Bristol.
DATE SUBJECT SPEAKER 8th August A Musical Topic Mr. Martin Hodson 22nd August A Himalayan Walk Sister Bernice 5th September Through the Eye of a Bee-Keeper Mr. Les Chirnside 19th September History of Porcelain Mr. Douglas Brown 3rd October HTV Mr. Mansel Jones 17th October Don't get rid of the Big Stick Mr. Michael Paciello 31st October Repairing Porcelain Mr. John Southall 14th November Glamorgan Cricket Mr. M. Price 28th November Tax Problems Mr. Peter Thomas 12th December History of Mining Mr. M. Green 19th December Probus Christmas Dinner
President... Allan George Beese TD
Secretary...Thomas Watkins, 43 Rowan Way, Malpas, Newport,
NP6 6JN
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