Nash, Newport

Nash (Welsh: Trefonnen) is a village and community parish to the south of the city of Newport, south-east Wales, in the Liswerry ward.

Origin of the name

The name is thought to originate from a contraction of "An Ash" (tree), meaning literally `place of the ash tree(s)'. This is supported by its appearance in deeds as "De Fraxino" (fraxinus was the Latin name for the ash tree)^[2]

The Welsh name is Trefonnen, given in older sources as Tre'r onnen, also meaning Town (tref) of the Ash (onnen).

Location

The actual village of Nash lies a mile or two outside of the main built-up area of the city of Newport to the south on the Caldicot Level, a large area of land reclaimed from the sea and crossed by drainage channels and reens [1]. In addition to the village itself, the parish contains Uskmouth power station [2] and part of the Newport Wetlands Reserve [3], including its Visitors Centre which was recently opened by BBC Springwatch presenter Kate Humble.^[3]

The City of Newport campus of Coleg Gwent (commonly referred to as 'Nash College') is actually in the neighbouring parish of Liswerry.

Together with the neighbouring parishes of Goldcliff and Whitson, Nash is one of the "Three Parishes" which have long been treated as a unit - geographical, socially, economically and ecclesiastically.

The parish is bounded to the south by the sea (Bristol Channel) to the east by the lower reaches of the River Usk and to the north by Liswerry and the Llanwern Steelworks site. To the west lie Goldcliff and Whitson.

History

In 1901 the only four private residents are listed as Mrs Morgan at "Greenfield", Mrs Morgan at "The Elms", Rev. C. W. Triton (Baptist, but curiously no separate residence given) and Miss Ester Wilcox at "Decoy Pool". Some twenty nine commercial interests include mostly farmers (22) but also William German, blacksmith and wheelwright, at "Pye Corner", Mrs Jones Sarah, publican at "Waterloo Inn", John Skuse, shop-keeper at Broadstreet Common, Edward Tamplin butcher at "Box Cottage", Thomas David farm bailiff to Mr. James Thomas at "Pye Corner Farm", John Watkins, butcher and Lewis Williams, mason at "Ash Cottage" ^[4].

A large part of the village, including Farmfield House, was lost in the construction of the Uskmouth Power Station and the adjoining huge ash-pits in 1959. Although the main part of the village centres around the church in West Nash, much of the village is set along the wide Broadstreet Common, which may be accessed via Pye Corner or via Straits Lane, and which provdies the more direct route to Whitson and Redwick. For many years the German family were the village blacksmiths at Pye Corner with the premises eventually became a petrol filling station. The site is now occupied by the offices of the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels Internal Drainage Board ^[5]. The village had its own small infant school, built in 1877 ^[4] on West Nash Road, until the 1970s.

The Church

The church of St. Mary the Virgin in West Nash, dating originally from the 12th century, is an important Grade I listed church notable for its fine tower and spire and has been called "the Cathedral of the Moors" [4]. The only remains of the Norman church is the North Wall of the chancel and the Squint. An unusual feature, the Squint or Hagioscope was used to enable those with leprosy, smallpox or other such diseases, to see or participate in the service without endangering the rest of the congregation from 'infection'. The tower is unusually located on the north side of the chancel. The interior, following restoration in 2004–2005, is notable for its complete set of 18th century furnishings, with box pews, a three-decker pulpit and a western gallery. In the fields to the south of the neighbouring Church Farm are ancient tumuli, the vestiges on some ancient, possibly mediæval, dwelling or chapel.

Amenities

To the north of church, at the end of St.Mary's Road, The Waterloo public house is a tenanted free-house notable for the fact it is owned by the parish council. A modern Community Hall has been built nearby.

At Pye Corner the recently-closed Baptist chapel [5], with its small graveyard, still stands in good repair. It is now in private ownership, although unhindered access to the graveyard remains. [6]

Located at the edge of the Newport Wetlands Reserve [7], East Usk Lighthouse [8] provides a notable landmark. Parts of Nash are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest SSSI. ^[6]

The village enjoys a regular public bus service provided by Veolia Transport Cymru.

The local newspaper is the South Wales Argus which is published in Newport.

The village skyline has recently been transformed with the installation of two 2.5-megawatt wind turbines, on the site of chemical company Solutia UK Ltd, which will supply up to one-third of the facility's electricity needs.^[7]

Present-day Nash

Several road schemes have proposed a southern relief motorway loop for Newport, as a way of mitigating the congestion of the existing M4 motorway (squeezed as it is through the notorious Brynglas Tunnels). Many of these schemes have involved intrusion, to a greater or lesser extent, into Nash. As a result, as recently as 2006, Nash Community Council became a member of the "Campaign Against the Levels Motorway" (CALM) Alliance formed to oppose such schemes by the Friends of the Earth Cymru.^[8]

References

External links

• Nash Community Council

Coordinates: 51°32′56.1″N 2°56′46.23″W / 51.548917°N 2.946175°W / 51.548917; -2.946175