Welcome to Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Entering the town of Newport an official highway sign says "Annapolis, MD, USA", acknowledging our Sister City Link.

Immediately I felt welcome.

Newport is an ancient and charming coastal town at the foot of Carningli and the Presili Hills and the estuary of River Nevern. Although this Norman town received its official Charter in 1197, it is much older. Stone tools place settlement as early as 7000 B. C. and burial chambers date to about 3500 B.C. A settled iron-age agricultural society established forts in the hills above. The Romans came in the 1st century, the Celtic Saints in the 5th century and the feuding Dynasties before the Normans arrived to govern the whole of Pembrokeshire in the 12th century.

While there were skirmishes with the Welsh to maintain control, Newport received a charter in 1197 from its founder, Lord William Martin. It became the larger of medieval towns of Wales.The first recorded Mayor was appointed in 1275 by the Marcher Lord, an inherited position of trusted supporters, created by King William I who did not have the resources to conquer the Welsh. To this day, the Mayor of Newport, population 1,000 and the Mayor of London are the only two civic heads in the United Kingdom still appointed to office. The selection is made by the Marcher Lord on November 9th from a list of four names submitted by burgesses of the town.

Newport is on the West Coast of Wales, in Pembrokeshire, a countryside of great diversity with deep valleys, green hills, rocky cliffs and long beaches. It is on the edge of Britain’s only coastal National Park that includes the drowned estuary of the River Nevern, old sea walls made from slate on edge and old lime kilns. It also includes the Presili Hills where it is believed Blue stones were quarried and transported to Stone Hedge some 200 miles away. No one knows how.Wild horses and sheep now roam this wild upland moor.

The Town Houses, a Norman Castle built in the 13th century and an historic church first built in the 7th century dedicated to Saint Curig and rebuilt by the Normans in the 13th century. The original plan of the medieval town exists unchanged in its narrow streets and meandering lanes. Stone-built and whitewashed cottages, and the changing light of a seaside town give it an air of tranquility. Flowers are everywhere-purple heather and lavender color the hills. Travel posters from the turn of the century suggest Newport as the destination for those seeking scenery, health and repose.

Workshops of artists – painters, weavers, wood-turners, potters – abound. The Welsh language is spoken and taught in school. Wales in Anglo-Saxon means "foreigner’; in Celtic, Cymry, it means "fellow countrymen". Eighteen per cent of its population speak Welsh. Wales is of Celtic origin.

Mayor Barry Onions welcomed me with a walk around town. At the Parrog , a 14-foot tide was out. People and dogs played in the sand and shallow water. Today there is a bird habitat nearby. Two swans have finally returned to the area. Mayor Onion would like more.

One of the responsibilities of the Mayor is the "Beating of the Bounds", a custom dating from the 5th century when the boundaries of a parish were established. Today, walking the boundaries takes place in Newport annually. The procession of town folk and children halt at boundary marks where small boys are whipped, afterward treated with cakes, so they will always remember where the boundaries are located. On August 12th, Mayor Barry Onion led the 8-mile procession to mark the bounds of Newport.

Retired Mayor Reverend Bob Jones and his wife Libby introduced us to St. David’s, the ruined monastery of Wales Patron Saint. The Vikings, King Henry VIII and Cromwell ravaged this area. The majestic cathedral has been restored, Christian services are conducted, visitors are welcome – it is a pilgrimage site.Newport became our Sister City over 20 years ago. Maryland’s late Senator Charles Mathias traces his roots to this area. Bob and Libby have visited Annapolis twice, as have others from Newport. Libby’s wardrobe includes a jacket with the large red dragon of Wales that attracted the attentions of our friends in Annapolis Irish Pubs.

No one knows how the red dragon was adopted for the Welsh flag. Legend suggested it was a standard in an 8th century battle. No doubt the same side carrying it was victorious. It must have been a Welsh victory.

Libby has pointed out opportunities in Newport ripe for archeology. The town is a microcosm of 10,000 years of human history.

Our links with Wales are solid. I look forward to our friends visit in 2008. Perhaps we can present the Mayor with two white swans to meet his dream for Newport’s bird refuge. Perhaps we can share our 30 year archeology program recording the 300 year history of Annapolis.

Leaving Newport I followed an old drover’s trail, the pathway where farmers walked livestock to market to industrial Newport, 150 miles, 6 hours away. Distance between towns is measured here not in miles but in travel time. Roads are narrow with little opportunity to pass. But then all of Wales seems like the slogan for visitors to Newport .... A place to enjoy beauty, secure health and repose...relax.