Newtown is located on the large natural harbour on the island's north-western coast, now mostly a National Nature Reserve owned and managed by the National Trust.
A French raid in 1377, that destroyed much of the town as well as other Island settlements, sealed its permanent decline. By the middle of the sixteenth century it was a small settlement long eclipsed by the more easily defended town of Newport. Elizabeth I breathed some life into the town by awarding two parliamentary seats but this ultimately made it one of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs. By the time of the Reform Act 1832 that abolished the seats, it had just fourteen houses and twenty-three voters.
Newtown was established in the 13th century as a potential centre of trade and shipping for the Isle of Wight.
Newtown's archaeological significance lies in the fact that it is a rare example of a medieval new town which failed economically, so that it has not been built over and redeveloped, and therefore much of the original ground plan survives.
Newtown represents a rare opportunity to study one of the Bishop of Winchester's new towns in its entirety.
Feeds |
Contact