Newport, Isle of Wight, High Street Heritage Action Zone: Topographic Analysis of the Late Medieval Town
Author(s): Magnus Alexander
Newport has been selected as one of the first round of High Street Heritage Action Zones (HS HAZs). As such it has been identified as a place that is rich in heritage promise but in need of support to unlock this potential and make its central commercial area more vibrant, inclusive and economically successful. The development of Newport since its foundation in the late 12th century is not well understood and many questions remain open. This lack of information has hampered community engagement and planning decisions. This project forms a part of Tier 2 Activity 1.1: ‘Deliver High Street Heritage Action Zones to support post-Covid recovery in town centres’ under Strategic Activity 1: ‘Investing directly in places where our expertise and resources make the most difference’ (HE 2021). It is primarily a desk-based study examining readily available historic maps and documentary sources. Products include this written report and GIS data, which will form the basis for future work and be available for on-going development. The project has focussed on analyses of the historic town-plan and the 1563 terrier which has also been compared with Speed’s 1611 plan of the town. This suggests that the town may have been based on an existing informal trading place at the head of the Medina estuary and that the adjacent north-east quarter of the town may have been the first to be laid out. This was followed by the development of most of the rest of the street grid based on High Street and Pyle Street which was fitted rather awkwardly around the existing plots. There may have also been some later medieval development, notably Crocker Street. The town then contracted during the 14th century, possibly halving in population, and did not recover its former size until the mid-17th century, experiencing a long period of stagnation. Recovery began in the 16th century and some changes in occupation intensity are discussed. The difficulties of working during the covid-19 pandemic affected the project, making various tasks more time-consuming and others impossible. Consequently, some objectives were not achieved, notably a detailed examination of the development of the town’s water supply system in the 17th and 18th centuries, nor any investigation of the possibility of developing a deposit model for the harbour area.
- Report Number:
- 49/2021
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 120
- Keywords:
- Desk Top Assessment Medieval Post Medieval Mapping
