Newport
NEWPORT is a city and unitary authority area in Wales, on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 miles (19km) northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third largest city in Wales. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area, with a population of 1,097,000.
Newport has been a port since medieval times when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th Century when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern south Wales valleys. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales’ largest coal-exporting port.
Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists. This was led by the Chartist John Frost which led to the re-branding of the Duffryn High School into John Frost School.
In the 20th Century, the docks declined in importance, but Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre. It was granted city status in 2002.
Newport hosted the Ryder Cup golf tournament in 2010 and was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit.