A Book of South Wales Author:Sabine Baring-Gould Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II NEWPORT The situation of Newport—The caer of Gwynllyw—The church—Gwyn- Ilyw's conversion—Retreat of Gwladys—S. Julian's—The Herberts— Letter of ... more »William Herbert—Lord Herbert of Cherbury—Christ Church— The stone of John Colmer—Caerleon—lorwerth ab Owen and Henry II. —The dog-wheel—The bridge—The woman and the lantern—Goldcliff— Tredegar—Dafydd ab Gwilym—His poems—Morfydd—The Chartists. A LTHOUGH Newport may not itself be a place of .l. striking picturesqueness, it is a centre whence much may be visited, and it possesses in itself a considerable amount of interest. It owes its origin to that old King of Wentloog, Gwynllyw, of whom mention has already been made. Standing, as it does, on the Usk, not far from the mouth, and the upper portion of the town occupying the last spur of the hills above the marshes, beyond which gleams the Severn Sea, and with the Ebbw on the west, it was formed by nature for a fortress; and Gwynllyw pitched on the hilltop for his residence. We are told that what led him to decide on the spot was a white ox with a black mark between its horns, which he found browsing on the hill, and which he was pleased to regard as affording an omen of good. But, in fact, the position of the place was sufficient to determine his choice. " Sea coasts with fields, and a wood with high groves are to be seen far and wide ; there is no prospect such as is in the place where I purpose to dwell; a fruitful spot, and inhabiting it I shall be happy."So he said, and he set to work to form a stockaded residence. The very locality can be pointed out. It was a moated tump or mound, on the summit of which grew some fir trees, not far from S. Woolo's Church. But, unhappily, it has had its appearance greatly altered, as in the excavation of the tunnel for the Great We...« less