NEWARK-on-TRENT
historic market-town and gateway to the North
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
Newark is one of England's most beautiful old market towns, and also a centre of industry, agriculture and commerce.
It lies on the river Trent, one of England's major waterways, which up until the 19th century was an imortant mode of industrial transportation. Newark, noted for light industry in the 20th century, and home to NSK (formerly Ransome & Marles, one of the counrty's leading bearing manufacturers) was for many years an important centre for brewing and malting. Brewers James Hole and Warwicks & Richardson, and maltsters Gilstrap Earp were active into the 20th century.
In terms of modern transport, Newark
is strategically situated near the A1 London-Edinburgh trunk road and also the
A46 leading from the Midlands to Lincolnshire and the humber ports. It is also
on the East Coast main railway line.
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| Newark
Castle Wall |
Norman
Gatehouse, Newark Castle |
Newark was granted its first charter by Edward VI in 1549, with a corporation of an alderman and twelve assistants. Today it is a Town Parish with a Mayor (which office dates back to 1626).
But Newark goes back much further than that. Near to Newark archaeological finds dating back to Roman times have been found, and Newark lay on the Roman Fosse Way. The earliest written record of Newark dates from 1055, when Godiva. wife of Leofric endowed the monastery of Stowe with the manor and church of Newark. Some time after 1130 the manor passed to the Bishops of Lincoln, who built his castle at Newark (of which there are remains today).
King John often stayed in the castle, which in 1216 became his last resting place. Other royal visitors include King Henry VII on his way to do battle with Lambert Simnel at East Stoke (four miles to the south-west). During the Civil War Newark was an important Royalist stronghold. Parliametarian sieges in 1642, 1644 and 1646 were unsuccesful, but eventually King Charles I, prisoner at nearby Kelham, gave the order for the town to surrender
The 18th and 19th centuries marked the town's rise to significance as a trading and industrial centre, and Newark's importance was enhanced when the railways were built in the 19th century. Important people associated with the town in the 19th century include Lord Byron (whose work was printed and published in Newark) and William Gladstone who was elected the town's MP in 1832.
Like all town's, Newark's face has changed in the last 50 years, with many new buildings, housing development, and in the town centre a shopping precinct. But for all that Newark retains its charm and beauty, and is a worthy tourist centre.
Places to see in Newark
Newark retains one of the largest
market squares in Newark, which still trades actively. On the western side of
the square is the Town Hall.This was designed and built by John Carr of
York in 1773, and its ballroom is an architectrual gem of the period. The
building of the St Mark's precinct has robbed Newark of the Clinton Arms hotel
(visited by Byron and Gladstone), but in the sout-east corner the Old White
Harte pub remains, dating from the 14th century. The space at the back has
benefitted from the Precinct in that an open yard is now there, affording better
view of the inn.
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| Saint
Mary Magdalene's Church |
The
Ossington |
Dominating the north side of the square, and one of Newark's unsung treasures is the magnificent Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, with its spire soaring 242 feet above the square, and visible from miles around. St Mary's, dating back to the 11th century is one of the country's most majestic parish churches, more cathedralesque is size and architecture.
At the southwestern corner of the
square is the old Governor's House. This half-timbered building was the
Governor's residence during the Civil War.
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| The Governor's
House |
The Olde White
Harte |
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| Market
Pace (with Town Hall) |
Sr
Mark's Precinct |
Newarks' other tourist attraction is its riverside, which has been much improved by the District Council with the construction of the Riverside Walk (where is the highly interesting Millgate Folk Museum, which is housed in a former oil-seed mill and exhibits artefacts of the social and industrial life of Newark) and the Millennium Park.
On the east bank of the river is the
Castle. Only the gatehouse (dating back to 1170) and the 13th century
river wall remain, the remainder casualty of the Civil War. But the visitor
approaching from the north is confronted with the castle wall, and towering
behind it the spire of St Mary Magdalene.
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