Newnham | |
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![]() St Peter's Church, Newnham | |
![]() Newnham on Severn from the riverside | |
Location within Gloucestershire | |
Population | 1,296 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | SO691117 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NEWNHAM |
Postcode district | GL14 |
Dialling code | 01594 |
Police | Gloucestershire |
Fire | Gloucestershire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the Royal Forest of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, approximately 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and three miles southeast of Cinderford. It is on the A48 road between Gloucester and Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The village has a parish council.
A parish church was established in the 14th century (although there had been a chapel of ease since 1018), and in 1366 a new church building was built on the high ground of the village as the old one faced erosion from the river. The new building has itself been damaged by a gunpowder explosion in 1644 during the English Civil War and a fire in 1881, but is still in use.
The Ancient Romans built three roads through the location, where they forded the River Severn. The Anglo-Saxons established a permanent settlement, the Normans built a motte-and-bailey fortification for defence, and in medieval times it became a major port with links around Great Britain and Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England staged an invasion of Ireland from Newnham. One account claimed that he set sail with 400 ships and 5,000 men, which suggests its importance as a port. For a time Newnham was the most successful Gloucestershire town west of the Severn. Its role as a port and trading hub declined, however, rapidly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.
In 1810, an early attempt at a Severn tunnel began construction just south of Newnham. Work was abandoned after flooding in 1812.
Matron Eva Luckes of The London Hospital lived in Newnham. [2]
The scenic Gloucester to Newport railway line goes through a tunnel here. Newnham railway station opened in 1851 and closed in 1964.
The civil parish is part of Newnham and Westbury electoral ward. This ward starts in the north at Westbury-on-Severn and then follows the River Severn to Newnham. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,088. [3]
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
The River Severn, at 220 miles (354 km) long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m), on the Plynlimon massif, which lies close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes. The river then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Gloucester and the City of Worcester lie on its course.
Dymock is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles south of Ledbury. In 2014 the parish had an estimated population of 1,205.
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wales. For most of its route, it runs almost parallel to the M4 motorway. During times of high winds at the Severn Bridge, the A48 is used as part of the diversion route and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
Forest of Dean is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England, named after the Forest of Dean. Its council is based in Coleford. Other towns and villages in the district include Blakeney, Cinderford, Drybrook, English Bicknor, Huntley, Littledean, Longhope, Lydbrook, Lydney, Mitcheldean, Newnham and Newent.
Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, two miles (3 km) east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's two electoral wards at the 2011 census was 8,359. It was estimated to be 9,130 in 2019. The parish includes the village of Baker's Hill.
Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle Estate, Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west. To the north lie the South Gloucestershire village of Hallen and the entertainment/retail park Cribbs Causeway.
Forest of Dean is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Mark Harper, a Conservative.
Frampton on Severn is a village in Gloucestershire, England. There is a parish council, consisting of nine members. The total population is 1,432.
Tidenham is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border. Tidenham is bounded by the River Wye to the west and the River Severn to the south. Offa's Dyke runs through the western part of the parish, terminating at Sedbury cliff above the River Severn.
St Briavels, is a medium-sized village and civil parish in the Royal Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England; close to the England-Wales border, and 5 miles (8 km) south of Coleford. It stands almost 800 feet (240 m) above sea level on the edge of a limestone plateau above the valley of the River Wye, above an ancient meander of the river. To the west, Cinder Hill drops off sharply into the valley. It is sheltered behind the crumbling walls of the 12th century St Briavels Castle.
Alvington is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the A48 road, six miles north-east of Chepstow in Wales. The parish had a total population of 506 at the 2011 census.
Arlingham is a village and civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 410, increasing to 459 at the 2011 census. The parish contains the hamlets of Milton End, Overton and Priding. The next parish to the east is Fretherne with Saul.
Awre is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, near the River Severn.
Gloucester was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the administrative county of Gloucestershire, England. The district did not include the City of Gloucester, which was a separate county borough. In 1935 Gloucester RD was more than doubled in size.
Westbury-on-Severn is a rural village in England that is the centre of the large, rural parish, also called Westbury-on-Severn.
The Bullo Pill Railway was an early British railway, completed in 1810 to carry coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield to a port on the River Severn near Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was later converted to a broad gauge steam line by the Great Western Railway, and was closed in the 1960s.
Hewelsfield is a village in Hewelsfield and Brockweir civil parish, in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England.
Fretherne with Saul is a civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. It includes the villages of Framilode, Fretherne, Saul and Upper Framilode.
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