Railings in front of Castlehold Baptist Church

Summary

Set of railings to a Baptist church, added in around 1872.

Reasons for Designation

The railings in front of Castlehold Baptist Church, High Street, Newport are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as good-quality iron railings with elegant detailing, and brickwork architecturally consistent with the main building.

Historic interest:

* as part of the urban development of Newport’s historic core.

Group value:

* it has good group value with the associated church (Grade II-listed, National Heritage List for England entry 1034578).

History

Newport’s first charter was granted by Richard de Redvers, fourth Earl of Devon in the late C12 and this is generally regarded as marking its foundation. The settlement was laid out on the low-lying ground along the western bank of the River Medina using a grid-style plan. Recent topographic analysis suggests that Newport may have developed around an existing informal trading settlement located at the head of Medina estuary, in the vicinity of Sea and Quay Street (Alexander, 2021). The High Street is one of five east-west running streets within the grid layout. High Street and Pyle Street extend the full length of the grid, divided by a market square, and form the planned core of Newport, with other shorter parallel streets to the south (South Street) and north (Lugley and Crocker Street). They were all largely in place by the mid-C13.

In the C14, the Isle of Wight was frequently subject to raids by French forces during long-running conflicts between England and France. According to historical documents, during one of the raids in 1377, Newport was severely damaged by fire and much of the population fled to Carisbrooke Castle. It appears that Newport was functioning again a few years later. During this century, records indicate that the population of Newport did decrease, most likely due to several wider economic factors, and did not significantly increase until the mid-C17. The town was incorporated as a borough in 1608 under a new charter granted by James I. Newport did not significantly expand beyond its medieval limits until around the late C18. By the mid-C19 there had been a more significant expansion of the town, including the development of its suburbs, which continued into the C20.

Castlehold Baptist Church was first built in around 1812. It is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map (1864; 1:2500) with a rectangular plan form, the front elevation, facing south onto the high street is shown set back from the pavement and there is narrow passageway to its eastern side, which terminates at a small, rectangular rear extension. A garden is shown to the rear, which is wider than the width of the High Street frontage. The church was enlarged in 1872, including rebuilding the front elevation and extensions to the rear. At around this time, the railings in front of the church were added.

Details

Set of railings to a Baptist church, added in around 1872.

DESCRIPTION: a set of late-C19 cast-iron railings are set on a low plinth. Most of the railings are topped with fleur-de-lis heads. There is a set of double gates at the centre, and further single gates at either end of the railings, all with a curving brace rail. The gates are flanked by railings with spear heads. At either end are Gault-brick piers with capstones.

The List entry was previously named Railings in front of church.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

309546

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Lloyd, DW, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Isle of Wight, (2018), p176.

Websites
British History Online - A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912),, accessed http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5 from 19 January 2024

Other
Isle of Wight Council, Newport Conservation Area Appraisal (2007)
Alexander, Magnus, Newport, Isle of Wight, High Street Heritage Action Zone: Topographic Analysis of the Late Medieval Town, Historic England Research Report 49/2021, (November 2021)
Hampshire Telegraph (Wednesday 09 October 1872), p4

End of official list entry

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