Driving along the M4 into Wales from England the first City that you come to is the sprawling port of Newport. It features in its insignia the ancient chevron, an inverted V arrow shape. It is a single red stripe on a gold background. It is a striking design that is used to highlight Vans at night using fluorescents. It certainly makes for a distinguished coat of arms for Newport.
The City owes its existence to the Normans. The Roman’s had two large colonies in Caerleon and Caerwent nearby but once the port was built these began to lose their influence. It gained its charter in 1314 establishing it as a market town for the fertile farms around South Wales and the fishing industry in the Severn.
With the industrial revolution and the need for Coal, Newport found itself as one of the primary sites for it’s export from Wales. For the next 120 years a seemingly never ending stream of coal seemed to come from the Rhymney Valleys . As the need for coal declined the City found itself a bit purposeless before taking on a great deal of the country’s steel production and manufacturing. The grand Celtic Manor is one of the city’s biggest visitor centres and attracts people all over the world, from those attending to play golf right through to those listening to a Motivational Speaker UK based that frequents the centre to share their stories through conference speaking.