Newport, Wales (Mons) - Bridge - postcard by MJR c.1905-10

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^{Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :}

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^{Newport Bridge (colloquially called Town Bridge though Newport is a city) connects High Street and Clarence Place across the River Usk adjacent to Newport Castle in Newport city centre.}

^{The first stone bridge on the site was a bridge of five arches, erected in the year 1800 by David Edwards (son of William Edwards). It was widened and improved in 1866 by adding footpaths on both sides.[1]}

^{The original foundation stone bearing the inscription "This bridge was erected at the expense of the County by David Edwards and his two sons William and Thomas. Completed AD MDCCC." is now set into the stonework of Caerleon Bridge.}

^{On 5 March 1913 the famous escape artist Harry Houdini jumped off Newport Bridge with his hands manacled and his feet shackled. He had been turned back by police but caught a taxi cab across the bridge and entered from the opposite side.[3] [4] He was arrested the following week by the police for obstructing a public highway and for holding a public entertainment on the bridge.[5]}

^{In 1911 the Town Council sought designs for a new replacement bridge.[1] In December 1923 a decision was made to proceed immediately with the construction of the new bridge, partly as a scheme to find work for the unemployed.[6]}

^{To best achieve this a temporary wooden bridge was erected alongside it[1] and all power and gas lines were re-routed onto it. Even the town's tram lines and their accompanying overhead power system were moved over.}

^{The old bridge was then demolished and the new one erected.}

^{On 22 June 1927 the new bridge was complete and opened to traffic by the Transport Minister Wilfrid Ashley.}

^{Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd; [kasˈnɛwɨð]) is a cathedral and university city and unitary authority area in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, approximately 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. At the 2011 census it was the third largest city in Wales, with a city population of 145,700[1] and an urban population of 306,844. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area with a population of 1,097,000.}

^{Newport has been a port since medieval times, when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales' largest coal-exporting port. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists.}

^{During the 20th century, when the docks declined in importance, Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre. It was granted city status in 2002. Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010 and was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit.}

^{It is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. The City of Newport, which includes some surrounding rural areas as well as the built up area, is governed by Newport City Council.}