120 High Street

Summary

A terraced building with ground-floor shop; the frontage is C18 or early-C19 though the building may have earlier origins.

Reasons for Designation

120 High Street, Newport, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:  
 
Architectural interest:

* as an C18 or early-C19 building which contributes to the character of an architecturally varied historic streetscape. 
 
Historic interest: 
 
* as part of the urban development of Newport’s historic core.  
 
Group value: 
 
* the building is in close proximity to a large number of listed buildings and forms part of a strong historic grouping.

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, 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 According to historical documents, during one of the raids in 1377 Newport was severely damaged by fire and much of the population fled to Carisbrooke Castle.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. 

The frontage of 120 High Street appears to date from the late C18 or early C19. The Ordnance Survey map published in 1864 shows a roughly square building with additions to the rear; the plan appears to have remained much the same since that time. The building housed a draper’s shop in the 1890s. The present shopfront dates to 2009 or shortly afterwards.

Details

Terraced building with ground-floor shop; the frontage is C18 or early C19 though the building may have earlier origins.

MATERIALS: the principal, south-facing front elevation is purple-grey brick laid in header bond with red-brick and stucco dressings. There is a stucco plat band between the first and second floor and a stucco cornice. The front section of the building has a pitched slate-covered roof, hipped at its eastern end. The window openings contain timber sash frames.

PLAN: the main part of the building is roughly square on plan, with a number of later additions extending to the north.

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation is of three storeys and three bays wide. To the east is an entrance with a recessed six-panelled door beneath a rectangular overlight, preceded by a stone step. The ground floor is otherwise occupied by the early-C21 shopfront. Above, the windows are framed in red brick with flat arches; the openings contain six-over-six sash frames. There are red-brick quoins, a stucco plat band separates the first and second storeys and there is a painted moulded eaves cornice with a plain frieze and parapet. Three forked metal straps clasp the western corner of the building.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

309559

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
Isle of Wight Council (2007) Newport Conservation Area Appraisal
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)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry