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Newtown is an ancient town on the north west coast of the Island, it is now a shadow of its former self being a hamlet with virtually no facilities. It was formerly known as Francheville (hence the use of the term on the seal above). It is on a 'spider' like inlet, Newtown Creek, and the area surrounding is a National Nature reserve which is mostly owned by the National Trust. There are yacht moorings in the creek, but attempts are made to limit this in an attempt to preserve the harbours unspoilt nature.
The old town is laid out as a grid, with street names such as 'Gold Street' and 'Silver Street', many of them may still be traced.
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A view looking along Broad Street, Newtown Arms Inn (closed 1916), also known as Noah's Ark on the left with with the Town Hall in the centre. The road to the left is High Street, this formerly extended to the right in front of Noah's Ark, but is now merely a grass track |
Newtown was the most ancient borough in the Isle of Wight. Its earlier name of Franchville (meaning a town holding its lands and tenements at a fixed rent, and free from obligation of performing any services to the Lord of the Manor except suit of court) indicates that it probably enjoyed municipal privileges before the Conquest. The first charter of which any record remains is that of Aymer de Valanee, Bishop Elect of Winchester, who founded this "New Town" in 1256, but the oldest charter still in existence is one granted by Edward II in 1318.
The Corporation of the new borough, consisted of a number of burgesses, seldom more
than twenty-five, whose qualification was the ownership of' borough land. At first it was
probably governed by a reeve, or bailiff, later a mayor was elected annually, the
first reference to one being in a deed of 1365. The original plan of the town provided for
seventy-three plots of land, most of which were held singly, at a rent of one shilling
each per annum. The arable land was divided into strips, known as land shares or furlongs,
and one was probably allotted to each household.
By the early fourteenth century, Newtown was a thriving community; some sixty families
lived there, and in 1344 the borough was assessed at twice the value of Newport. The busy
and important harbour was regarded as the safest in the Island. There were prosperous salt
works, where sea water was evaporated in great salterns, and the profitable oyster beds in
the estuary were famous. The ancient leases of the fisheries state that the lessee was
obliged to provide sufficient oysters, as well as "a good dish of fish", for the
mayoral feast. Edward II's charter confirmed the privilege of a weekly market and an
annual three-day fair, held on "the eve, the day and the morrow of the Feast of St.
Mary Magdalen", to whom the thirteenth-century chapel was dedicated.
Newtown is said to have been sacked by the Danes in 1001, and certainly it suffered a number of attacks by the French at later dates, the most disastrous being in 1377 when much of the town was burnt. Indeed, it seems that it never fully recovered from this raid, and may have been only partially, rebuilt. Although its charter was renewed on a number of occasions, its subsequent history is one of gradual decline; by 1559 the town had lost its importance, much of its maritime trade had been taken by Newport, and a survey of that year stated that there was no longer a market, nor any good house standing.
In 1584, Queen Elizabeth gave parliamentary representation to the borough, perhaps in
an attempt to revitalise it. In this she did not succeed, but nevertheless Newtown
continued to elect two members of parliament during the next 250 years. Throughout the
seventeenth century there were "quarrels, lawsuits and animosities" over the
rights of electors and candidates, and it is clear that politics provided much dissension,
although little prosperity. A map dated 1636 showed only twelve inhabited buildings and a
dilapidated chapel, yet two successive Governors of the Island were elected as mayor
between 1680 and 1693, and the Town Hall was built shortly before 1700, showing the
importance of Newtown as a parliamentary borough. During the eighteenth century it was
increasingly controlled by two prominent Island families, the Barringtons and the
Worsleys, who had acquired most of the borough lands and who had an agreement by which the
nominee of each family was automatically elected to one of the seats. In 1832, Newtown was
declared a "Rotten Borough", and was disenfranchised under the first Reform Act,
bringing its political life to a close.
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The Town Hall before and after restoration, which was carried out in the 1930's.
The Town Hall is the only remaining evidence to the one-time importance of Newtown. Built of brick with stone dressings, it stands on the foundations of an earlier building. It was built and paid for by public subscription in around 1699. The architect is unknown but various features such as the round headed windows, the stone dressings and the interior panelling point to such a date. The stone walls and windows of the basement formed part of the previous building, while the Gothick fenestration and four columned portico on the North front were probably added around the end of the l8th century. One of the last acts of the old corporation before it was dissolved was a restoration of the Town Hall in 1813, at a cost of £443.
After the dissolution of the council, it became a school, then a house and then an ivy clad ruin. In the 1930's a group called Ferguson's Gang, a group of anonymous individuals with names such as Bill Stickers, Shot Biddy and Sister Agatha, who were dedicated to halting sprawling development and preserving England's heritage puchased it (for £5) and an adjoining field (for £100). It was then restored at an estimated cost of £1000 and given to the National Trust. It is now open to the public.
The inside of the Town Hall. A card probably from the 1950's
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This building is known as 'Noah's Ark' (origin not known) and was formerly the Newtown Arms Inn (although it closed in 1916). The sign above the door shows the seal of Newtown (Francheville). For a detailed picture of the seal and a picture of the building in the 1900's see the previous page. |
More about Newtown A travel article from the 1930's
