Medieval town of Newport (EHER 377)

Newport was a royal manor, with castle, recorded at the time of the Domesday Survey. A market, possibly of Saxon origin, was moved to Saffron Walden in 1141. The town appears to have recovered its market fairly quickly, having gained borough status by the late 13th century, with a new marketplace (now infilled) on the High Street, to the north of the possible site of its predecessor. <

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Newport. <1> In 1227 Newport is represented as a borough or vill by its own jury at the eyre. In 1272 Newport is mentioned as a borough. Rents received from plots in the borough are mentioned in 1297. <2> Newport was a royal manor, with castle, recorded at the time of the Domesday Survey. A market, possibly of Saxon origin, was moved to Saffron Walden in 1141. The town appears to have recovered its market fairly quickly, having gained borough status by the late 13th century, with a new marketplace (now infilled) on the High Street, to the north of the possible site of its predecessor. <3> The topography of the town consists of linear development along the main (Cambridge) road and a minor road leading from the town to the west, Wicken Road. There have been no significant excavations in the town centre. <4> The beginning of the medieval period saw a period of growth, in 20 years between 1066 and 1086 the population increased by about one third, from 26 to 39 households. Newport underwent a troubled time during the wars between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, largely due to the activities of its powerful neighbour, Geoffrey de Mandeville at Saffron Walden. In 1141 de Mandeville offered to support Matilda in exchange for commercial favours, which included the removal of the market from Newport to Saffron Walden, the seizing of the tithes, lands and chapels of Newport church and the re-routing of the main roads up the Cam valley. All of these would have had a deleterious effect on Newport's standing. However, the arraignment of de Mandeville for treason in 1143 saw the restoration of the market and the church's property. However, Saffron Walden also retained a market and the new routeways from this date, providing competition for Newport. As a consequence of the de Mandeville activities the royal accounts of 1155/6 record the payment of £12 for 'the rebuilding of Newport'. <5> The manor of Newport was kept either by the king in his own hands or temporarily granted to favourites or officials. As a royal manor Newport also functioned as a centre of royal administration until at least 1243, when it was granted as part of the marriage portion to Henry III's eldest son, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, becoming part of the Earldom of Cornwall. A prison was built in the town in 1176/7. Holman (1710-30) <6> recorded that the Plea Rolls of 1207 referred to a 'castle' at Newport, unfortunately this reference cannot now be traced and the location or indeed nature of the 'castle' is uncertain (manuscript in ERO). Assizes were sometimes held in the town. <7> Accounts for 1296/7 <8> and a valuation of 1299 <9> give a detailed description of the manor and town of Newport. The Earl of Cornwall held 251 acres, a large house, two watermills and a windmill, the farm was managed by a bailiff. There were eleven free tenants who held 675 acres between them, accounting for most of the remaining land, and they appear to have held the land as strip fields distributed throughout the manor in the East Midlands tradition. In 1299 there were 86 burgesses or townspeople holding property in the town and a total of 94 families in the manor as a whole. The economy appears to have been largely based on the market and the wool-trade, with occupations indicated by surnames including a goldsmith, mason, dyer, draper and glover. The period from 1300-1536 was one of decline, largely due to the rise of Saffron Walden as a market-centre. The built-up area consisted of development along both sides of the High Street and the part of Wicken Road closest to the church, Bridge End and along 'Flemings Lane' (which seems to have been a continuation of Bury Water Lane). St Leonard's Hospital appears to mark the northern limits of the town. The triangular market was located immediately to the east of the church, but this was gradually infilled in the later medieval period. The valuation of 1299 records 86 burgesses holding property in the town, and some 19 shops, 13 market-stalls, 4 forges and a butcher's shambles. In addition to the townhouses the farmhouses and yards of some of the eleven farms within the manor were also located within the town, including Pond Cross, Belmont, Martin's, Parsonage and Gaces Farm. In the fourteenth and fifteenth century Newport underwent a decline and the area of 'Flemings Lane' was deserted. The built environment however contains a number of structures dating to this period, the oldest of which is the Old Vicarage, High Street, a fourteenth century hall-house. The Monk's Barn is a fifteenth century 'wealden-house', possibly built by the College of St Martin le Grand for the use of their officials. Newport was in decline in the early post-medieval period, due to the rise of Saffron Walden. There was however a significant industry in leather-working in the town in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and in wool-combing in the later seventeenth century. In 1744 the main road was upgraded to turnpike status, and both widened and, in the area of Belmont Hill, lowered. The resulting improvement in communications and increase in traffic led to an upturn in Newport's fortunes. A survey by the churchwardens in 1831 established that 81 families were employed in agriculture, 65 in trade, manufacture and handicrafts and 11 merchants, bankers, educated people and gentry. The early post-medieval built-up area retained its late medieval dimensions. However, some new dwellings were erected within the existing town area, most notably Waterloo House and Cottage, and others were updated as happened to the Crown House when the new owner added an elaborate pargetted front in 1692. In 1635 there was a severe fire in Newport, and although its location is not recorded, the absence of old properties in the centre of the village between the Wicken Road, Elephant Green and the top of Belmont Hill suggests that this area may have been the epicentre. Certainly, many of the cottages around Elephant Green could have been built immediately after this date. <5> The increase in prosperity in the late18th century century led to the improvement of the buildings along the High Street, with brick facades added to the fronts of timber-framed houses and a number of new buildings, including Newport House, Brown House and the Old Manse. The opening of the railway in 1845 led to further development along Station Road. The parish cage, which was used for minor offenders, was located in Church Street, but this is no longer extant. The pillory which once stood in Newport is now in Saffron Walden Museum. <7>