LAST week we featured a picture of The Gold Tops in Newport.

THIS picture shows the approach to Civic Centre and Devon Place with St Mark’s Church in the middle. Very busy there now with the Newish Crown Court to the left and lots of public offices. To the right is the entrance to the station car park and the road that leads to Bridge Street and Caerau Road.

Jim Dyer, Newport

THIS is St Mark’s Church in Newport’s Gold Tops.

It was built in 1874, at a cost of £6,000 and could seat 450 worshippers.

It was the Newport High School church, the Old Boys still meet there. The little girls are entering into Faulkner Road on the left.

The cameraman is standing in Godfrey Road, which bears around to the left, Devon Place bears to the right.

Behind the wall on the right hand side was the GWR repair shop, carriage sidings and loco turntable.

The houses past Faulkner Road were demolished in the 1930s, to build the Civic Centre. Part of the Civic was built in 1937, but war stopped work, the clock tower was put on hold as it would have proved a valuable navigation beacon for German bombers, it was then finished in 1964.

During the war the lower part of the unfinished Civic site contained a huge brick-built static water tank for fire fighting, this area is now a car park.

Behind the cameraman’s left shoulder was Arnold’s the ironmongers before relocating to Skinner Street and becoming an electrical shop. Arnold’s is probably the oldest family run business in Newport.

Dave Woolven, Newport

THIS is the junction of Godfrey Road, Faulkner Road and Devon Place just below the Civic Centre in Newport.

Being a Newport High School boy and living in Tunnel Terrace I used to cross this junction every school day on my way to school.

I had to make sure I was wearing my school cap, as the punishment for not doing so was the dapper off one of the school prefects.

In the fifties and sixties immediately adjacent to the current car park was a public car ramp.

Residents could use this facility to undertake maintenance on their cars.

The Law Courts were not built at this time and the land they now occupy was one of our unofficial football pitches.

No goal posts of course so we had to use our woolly jumpers.

Dave Fereday, Llantarnam