Newark (also Newark-on-Trent) is a town in Nottinghamshire, located on the River Trent. The River Devon also runs through the town.

It is a historic market town, with a castle. King John of England died there. During the English Civil War, Newark survived a siege by Cromwell's forces. The town was ordered to surrender by Charles I after its capture, and the defending forces left with their heads held high.

The church of St Mary Magdalene, one of the largest and finest parish churches of England, is specially notable for the beauty of the tower and of the octagonal spire (223 ft. high) by which it is surmounted. The central piers of the old church, dating from the 11th or 12th century, remain, and the lower part of the tower is a fine example of Early English when at its best. The upper parts of the tower and spire are Decorated, completed about 1350; the nave dates from between 1384 and 1393, and the chancel from 1489. The sanctuary is bounded on the south and north by two chantry chapels, the former of which has on one of its panels a remarkable painting from the Dance of Death. There are a few old monuments, and an exceedingly fine brass of the 14th century.

Situated at the intersection of the Great North Road and the Fosse Way, Newark originally grew around Newark Castle, now ruined, and a large marketplace, now lined with historic buildings. The former London and North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line runs through the town, but the A1 and A46 roads now bypass it.

Newark (Newerca, Nouwerk) owed its origin, possibly in Roman times, to its position on the great road called the Fosse Way, in the valley of the Trent. In a document which purports to be a charter of 664 Newark is mentioned as having been granted to the abbey of Peterborough by Wulfhere. In the reign of Edward the Confessor it belonged to Godiva, who granted it to the monastery of Stow, and it remained in the hands of the bishops of Lincoln until the reign of Edward VI.

The castle was erected by Bishop Alexander in 1123, and the bridge about the same time. Under Stephen a mint was established. There were burgesses in Newark at the time of the Domesday Survey, and in the reign of Edward III. there is evidence that it had long been a borough by prescription. It was incorporated under an alderman and twelve assistants in 1549, and the charter was confirmed and extended by Elizabeth I. Charles I., owing to the increasing commercial prosperity of the town, reincorporated it under a mayor and aldermen, and this charter, except for a temporary surrender under James II, has continued the governing charter of the corporation. Newark returned two representatives to parliament from 1673 until 1889.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.