THREE images from the South Wales Argus archive show Newport's Westgate Hotel over a period of a century.
The first, taken in Westgate Square in 1900, shows a bustling street scene with ladies in feathered hats, men in flat caps, the tram network on Commercial Street and the French Renaissance style of the Westgate Hotel, redeveloped in 1884.
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The Westgate at the turn of the century
In the 1980s the hotel included a string of retail stores including Thorntons, Benetton and a jewellers.
The Westgate Hotel in 1986
Today the the building is no longer used as a hotel but was opened in 2019 for temporary display by Our Chartist Heritage for the Chartist Rising anniversary.
Statues outside the Westgate Hotel in Newport. Picture: christinsleyphotography.co.uk
In Westgate Square stands three statues, 'Union, Prudence, Energy' which commemorate the bloody battle of the Chartist Rising in 1839 where 3,000 Chartists led by John Frost marched to Newport to attempt to release five of their members being held at the hotel.
For more archive photographs and memories of Newport join our We Grew Up In Newport group on Facebook.
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