Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for NEWTOWN

NEWTOWN, a town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred, in Montgomery. The town stands in a fine alley, on the river Severn, the Montgomerycanal, and the Cambrian railway, 5¾ miles N W of the meeting-point of Montgomery, Radnor, and Salop, and 29½ S S W of Oswestry; was originally a small village called Llanfair-yn-Ghydewain; is known to the Welsh as Tre-Newydd; rose gradually to some consequence as a seat of manufacture, particularly of fine flannels; acquired a sudden increase of importance in 1832, by the removal to it of the flannel markets previously held at Welshpool; had recently many timber houses, framed with lath and faced with plaster, and similar to thehouses of Llanidloes; presents, in the aggregate, a well-built appearance, and considerably more bustle than most Welsh towns; enjoys eminent manufacturing advantages in situation, in local appliances, and in facilities of conveyance, yet does not prosper correspondingly with these advantages, partly on account of popular dislike to the use of machinery; is notable as the birth-place and the burial-place of Robert Owen, the founder of socialism; was made a parliamentary borough by thereform act of 1832, uniting with Montgomery, Welshpool, Machynlleth, Llanidloes, and Llanfyllin in sending a member to parliament; is the seat of the summer assizes of Montgomeryshire, and a seat of petty sessions; and has a head post-office, ‡ a railway station, two banking offices, two chief inns, a bridge, a town hall, a flannel-hall, a church, four dissenting chapels, a public school, anathenæum, a dispensary, and charities £13. The bridgeis modern; and has three arches, each 60 feet in span-The flannel-hall was built in 1832, at a cost of £4,000; is a spacious structure; and is used also for public meetings and other purposes. The church was built in 1847; and contains monuments of the Pryses of Newtown Hall, and a remarkably beautiful late perpendicular rood-screen, removed to it from the old church, and originally brought from Abbey-cwm-Hir. The old church stands in the centre of the town; is an interesting structure, in a state of dilapidation; comprises nave and chancel, with a Saisle of equal breadth, separated by a curious wooden arcade of eight bays; has some windows of decorated English date, and some of late perpendicular; and was proposed, in 1868, to be partly restored, in order to beused for burial services. The dissenting chapels arefor Independents, Baptists, Calvinistic Methodists, and Wesleyans. The North Wales Independent theological college formerly was here. Markets are held on Tuesdays and Saturdays; and fairs on the last Monday and Tuesday of every month. A public limited liability company was recently formed, and employs about 200hands. Flannels are manufactured in upwards of 50 factories; machinery of every kind is made; trade is carried on in connexion with wharves and limekilns; and there are foundries, potteries, maltings, and tanneries. Newtown Hall, in the neighbourhood of the town, was formerly the seat of Sir John Pryse, and passed to the Rev. G. Evors. Dolerw and Dolforgan also are neighbouring seats. The borough limits comprise all Newtown parish and Gwestydd and Hendidley townships. Pop. in 1851, 6, 371; in 1861, 5, 916. Houses, 1, 391. The parish comprises 2, 736 acres. Real property, £12, 576; of which £150 are in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 3, 784; in 1861, 3, 692. Houses, 846. The living is a rectory in the diocese of St. Asaph. Value, £406.* Patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph.—The sub-district contains also the parish of Llanllwchaiarn. Acres, 7, 162. Pop. in 1851, 6, 559; in 1861, 6,086. Houses, 1, 422. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Kerry, containing the parishes of Kerry and Moughtre; the sub-district of Tregynon, containing the parishes of Tregynon, Bettws, Llanwyddelan, Llanllugan, and Manafon; the sub-district of Llanwnog, containing the parishes of Llanwnog, Carno, Llandinam, Penstrowed, and Aberhafesp; the sub-district of Upper Llanidloes, containing the upper division of Llanidloes parish and the parish of Llangurig; and the sub-district of Lower Llanidloes, containing the lower division of Llanidloes parish and the parish of Trefeglwys. Acres, 189, 537. Poor rates in 1863, £13, 450. Pop. in 1851, 25, 107; in 1861, 23, 732. Houses, 4, 788. Marriages in 1863, 209; births, 815, of which 119 were illegitimate; deaths, 589, of which 204 were at ages under 5 years, and 24 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 1, 737; births, 7, 560; deaths, 5, 152. The places of worship, in 1851, were 16 of the Church of England, with 3, 752 sittings; 7 of Independents, with 1, 593 s.; 15 of Baptists, with 3,080 s.; 23 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 4,072 s.; 15 of Wesleyan Methodists, with2, 736 s.; and 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 600 s. The schools were 16 public day-schools, with 1,061 scholars; 15 private day-schools, with 390 s.; 90 Sunday schools, with 7, 697 s.; and 4 evening schools for adults, with 112 s. The workhouse is in Llanwnog; and, at the census of 1861, had 134 inmates. The hundred includes only the N E section of the district, the S W section being mainly in Llanidloes hundred; and it contains ten parishes, and part of another. Acres, 55, 218. Pop. in 1851, 13, 257; in 1861, 12, 447. Houses, 2, 682.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Newtown AP/CP       Newtown SubD       Newtown and Llanidloes RegD/PLU       Montgomeryshire AncC
Place names: NEWTOWN     |     TRE NEWYDD
Place: Newtown

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.