| The wide High Street perhaps gives the town a larger feel to it than it actually is. But in this one street is everything a shopper could wish for. The original town of Newport has left little that is visible today, having been all but destroyed in a fire in 1665, and mainly what is seen today is after that period. The church dedicated to St. Nicholas, is the main focal point of the main street and sits on an island in its centre. It is an impressive church, perhaps more impressive from a distance than in closeup. Most of what can be seen dates from the extensive rebuilding in the last century.
When entering the town from the north, the road bends in what is known as Chetwynd End, which has always given me the impression of being part of an affluent suburb of what could be a larger town. The road then crosses the canal, which is no longer navigable. The bridge is a 'roving bridge' which is one where the horses could pass from a towpath on one side to one on the other.
A little to the east of the bridge the canal widens into what was once a commercial basin, and is now quite tastefully landscaped, and can still be imagined as a busy place when canals were in their heyday. Over the bridge and to the right lies Salter's Lane and a couple of small passageways imaginatively developed into shopping arcades.
The houses and shops on either side of the road that leads up to the church are of a bygone age and are most attractive to look at. Nearer the church the road splits, St. Mary Street leading to the left of the church and the High Street to the right. On the right are twin alms house on either side of the entrance to Adam's Grammar School (founded by one of the town's sons in the mid 17th century).
Whether in St. Mary Street or the High Street there are sufficient buildings of interest to occupy the visitor. The Smallwood Lodge, a pretty timber framed building, as well as other Georgian and Victorian buildings all combine to make this Shropshire town an attractive spot to linger. | |
