Newport Civic Centre
Canolfan Ddinesig Casnewydd
The south elevation of the building
General information
Architectural styleArt Deco
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameNewport Civic Centre
Designated14 September 1999
Reference no.22333
Town or cityNewport
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°35′19″N 3°00′22″W / 51.588713°N 3.006011°W / 51.588713; -3.006011
Construction started1937
Completed1964
ClientNewport Corporation
Design and construction
Architect(s)Thomas Cecil Howitt

Newport Civic Centre (Welsh: Canolfan Ddinesig Casnewydd) is a municipal building in Godfrey Road in Newport, South Wales. The civic centre, which is the headquarters of Newport City Council, is a Grade II* Listed building.[1]

History

The old town hall in Commercial Street built in 1885 which featured a 150 feet (46 m) high tower[2]

The first town hall, which was located in Commercial Street and designed in the classical style, was officially opened on 31 January 1843;[3] after this was found to be too small it was replaced a second structure, also in Commercial Street, which was designed by Thomas Meakin Lockwood in the Renaissance style and completed in 1885.[4][5] After deciding the second town hall was also inadequate for their needs, civic leaders chose to procure a new civic centre: the site they selected had previously been occupied by a property known as St Mary's Lodge in Fields Road.[6][7]

The ceremonial first sod on the new building was cut by King George VI, accompanied by Queen Elizabeth, on 14 July 1937.[1] Following a design competition, it was designed by Thomas Cecil Howitt in the Art Deco style and built using Portland stone.[8] Progress was delayed by the advent of the Second World War but resumed after the war: the building was fitted out, a collection of 12 murals by the German artist Hans Feibusch were installed and the clock tower was finished.[1] The building, which Newman in The Buildings of Wales described as "something of a disappointment", finally opened in 1964.[8]

The design involved a very wide symmetrical frontage with 37 bays facing Fields Road; the central section of five bays featured a huge full-height round-headed entrance on the ground floor and a clock tower above; there were wings to the east and west, each of seven bays, and beyond that there were side bays, each of nine bays.[1] A court complex was built to the south of the main building between 1989 and 1991.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the mayor's parlour.[1] The building was the meeting place of Newport Borough Council until the town was granted formal city status as part of a contest for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 and the building then became the home of Newport City Council.[9]

A sandstone plaque to commemorate the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort, which had been placed in the pavement outside the civic centre, was unveiled on 7 October 2011.[10] Works of art in the civic centre include a sculpture by David Evans depicting two straining miners entitled "Labour".[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cadw. "Newport Civic Centre (22333)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Now and then: Commercial Street, Newport". South Wales Argus. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Old Town Hall 1842 - 1883, Newport". Newport Past. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Newman, John (2000). The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire. Yale University Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0300096309.
  5. ↑ "Newport Town Hall Competition". The Builder. 8 July 1882. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "St Mary's Lodge Field's Road". Newport Past. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1937. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 Newman, John (2000), The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, Yale University Press, p. 74, ISBN 978-0300096309
  9. ↑ "Newport wins battle for city status". BBC News. 14 March 2002. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  10. ↑ "Ryder Cup plaque unveiled". This is Newport. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Newman, John (2000). The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire. Yale University Press. p. 440. ISBN 978-0300096309.
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