Newtown (Powys)
Newtown Welsh Y Drenewydd |
||
---|---|---|
Newtown town center in Powys, Wales | ||
Coordinates | 52 ° 31 ′ N , 3 ° 19 ′ W | |
OS National Grid | SO115915 | |
|
||
Residents | 10,783 (2001) | |
administration | ||
Post town | NEWTOWN | |
prefix | 01686 | |
Part of the country | Wales | |
Preserved County | Powys | |
Unitary authority | Powys | |
British Parliament | Montgomeryshire | |
Website: www.newtown.org.uk | ||
Newtown ( Welsh Y Drenewydd ) is the largest city in Welsh County Powys or in traditional County Montgomeryshire . It was founded in 1280 and is located on the River Severn , 15 miles southwest of Welshpool . Newtown is known as the birthplace of the great social reformer Robert Owen , who was also buried here. The Robert Owen Memorial Museum commemorates his life and work .
history
Newtown was originally a small settlement on the old church of St. Mary in the Cantref of Cedewain , the remains of which can still be seen on the banks of the Severn below the Longbridge. The village, which was called Llanfair yng Nghedewain at the time , received market rights on January 16, 1279 . In addition, King Edward I had given the Norman Baron Roger de Montgomery permission, which is still valid today, to hold a market every Tuesday in "Newentowne". Probably the town's new market replaced one that took place outside the walls of Dolforwyn Castle until the English captured the castle, halfway between Newtown and Montgomery , in battle against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1277 .
From the 16th century, Newtown began to develop wool weaving and trading. Eventually, based on the hand-weaving operations on the farms during the winter months , the town eventually became the historic center of the wool and flannel industry in Wales in the 18th and 19th centuries . Associated with this was a considerable expansion, the population grew from under 1000 to over 4500 between 1801 and 1841. The invention of the weaving machine by Edmond Cartwright in 1785 put an end to the early home industry. Only the richly equipped textile museum on Commercial Street still reminds of this period of great prosperity .
In 1838 Newtown saw the first Chartist demonstration in Wales.
Urban development
In an effort to create additional employment opportunities and curb the rural exodus, Newtown became the second town biographically to the New Towns in Wales in 1967 .
The gradual urban development in the 1970s led to a mixture of old and new in the cityscape . The new structures also include a county central library, police center, and residential and commercial areas. Enterprises of light industry were settled to the traditional textile mills and sawmills to strengthen dominated economy. The largest employer in the region is Control Techniques Ltd , a subsidiary of the American EMERSON group. Control Techniques is a manufacturer of components for electrical drive technology and is one of the world's leading companies in this industry.
Attractions
In the southwest of the city are the remains of a Norman moth (castle) . You can also see the meeting house in which Owain Glyndŵr convened the last Welsh parliament in Dolgellau in 1404 ; the building had been demolished and rebuilt in a park in Newtown in 1885.
Personalities
- Robert Owen (1771–1858), entrepreneur and early socialist
- George Latham (1881–1939), national soccer player and coach
- Sian Lloyd (* 1958), TV presenter
- Lembit Öpik (* 1965), politician (Liberal Democrats)
Twin cities
literature
- Encyclopædia Britannica : Britannica CD 99 Multimedia Edition
- HE Conrad: Wales ; Prestel Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7913-0594-8 , p. 133.
- Peter Sager : Wales - DuMont Art Guide; DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-7701-1407-8 , p. 291.
Web links
- Official website of the City (English)