116 High Street

Summary

Townhouse with shop, early C19, shopfront is an early-C21 replacement.

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 According to historical documents, during one of the raids in 1377, Newport was severely damaged by fire and much of the population fled to Carisbrooke Castle.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

116 High Street dates from the early C19. The plan form of the building is first shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map (1864; 1:2500). This shows a very similar plan form to today with a small, narrow, rectangular building with its shorter side fronting the High Street. OS maps from the 1960s show that the building had been extended to the rear by this time. In 1972 the building was described as having a modern shopfront. A new shopfront was installed after 2006.

Details

Townhouse with shop, early C19; the shopfront is an early-C21 replacement.

MATERIALS: the upper floors are faced with Flemish-bond red bricks, first and second floors of the front (south) elevation are faced with red bricks. The east side elevation is constructed of brick, practically painted. The half-hipped roof over the front range is covered in slate, with brick stacks.

PLAN: the building is rectangular in plan with a narrow front elevation facing south onto the High Street.

EXTERIOR: the front elevation is three storeys, and one bay wide. The ground floor is occupied by an early-C21 timber-frame shopfront with a large fascia. Above this, there is a first-floor tripartite window with single panes divided by plain strips. On either side of the central pane are curving brackets that support a projecting cornice that forms the underside of the second-floor oriel window. This canted oriel window has three one-over-one sash windows; the two side sashes are narrower than the front face. There are plain strips between the sashes and a panelled apron below. The cornice of the oriel window continues to form a wood eaves cornice at the top of the elevation. This front range has a gable end roof, covered in slates, and a brick chimney stack to its eastern side. The side (east) elevation overlooks a narrow passageway. The side of the three-storey range is blank. Further south is the side of a two-storey wing with four windows at first-floor level, one of which is a nine-by-nine sliding sash; the other three are modern. There are three blocked-up openings at ground-floor level and a fire door to the north end of the elevation. The west and rear elevations abut the adjoining buildings.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

309557

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

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

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