Transport in Newport 1750-1914

1750-1850

In 1750 Newport was on the main road north, now known as the A41, from London to Chester and from there to Ireland. A day's travel by horse-drawn transport was about 20 miles and Newport is equidistant from Whitchurch and Wolverhampton. Local people had to maintain the local roads until turnpike roads were built. These were roads built and repaired by trustees who charged tolls to road users. Tolls were collected at tollgates across the road by toll-keepers who were often unpopular.They lived in toll houses close to the road, and they usually had bay windows so that they could see potential customers coming up the road. The Newport to Chester road was turnpiked in 1759; the Newport to Stafford road in 1762 and the Newport to Eccleshall in the 1770s. These lasted for a hundred years. The last tollhouse can be seen on the Stafford Road near the junction with Schoolground Lane. These turnpike roads were properly maintained and did allow the growth of fast coach traffic.

The town provided accommodation for travellers and horses. There were many inns in Newport providing food & rest and stabling for horses. Some were the Red Lion (now Barclays Bank and yard), the Crown (now Davies White and Perryand yard - now Crown Mews) and the White Bear (now Beaumaris House in Lower Bar). In 1832 a brand new hotel, the Royal Victoria, was built to cater for the coach trade.

The first canal reached Newport at Pave Lane, which was then on the main road, in 1763 mainly bringing coal and lime from Donnington and Lilleshall, most of the canal ran along what is now the drive to Lilleshall Hall. The bridge over the drive once carried the canal.
The main Newport canal was built in 1835 to connect the canals of the industrial area of Telford with the major canal system at Norbury Junction in Staffordshire. The 1831 census notes 70 men in Newport working on the canal. The canal basin is still in Water Lane and the canal bridge at Lower Bar (a roving bridge) is now a listed ancient monument.

1850-1914

The canal continued after 1850 though the railway competition meant life was hard for boatmen and their families. When the canal was frozen they would often starve.
A railway was put in in 1847/8. This was owned by the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Company. This was leased immediately by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The line from Stafford to Shrewsbury employed over 3,000 men. It was opened on 1st June 1849 and shops shut and bells were rung on the day it opened. It had a double track and it was designed to take the traffic off the Great Western line to Birmingham via Stafford. The railway was very popular with Newport people, and opened up the whole country for cheap travel. The Railway Act of 1844 meant that people could travel at 1d per mile on at least one train a day.

Turnpikes were gradually abandoned in the 1860s and attempts were made to improve the roads through Highway Boards, but it was not until the creation of District Councils in 1894 and, for main roads, the County Councils, in 1888, that any improvements were made. By 1900 the arrival of the motor car was making good roads essential. Several people in Newport had cars by 1900, but they were still rare, and roads were still muddy and dusty until the introduction of tarmacadam. Even at this time cattle were still driven to Newport market along the country roads.

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