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NEWTON
The village of Newton dates from the 12th century and was founded as the 'New Town' close to the Saxon settlement of Nottage. It was mentioned in 1538 as “ A pretty little village…. And there is a station for ships”. By the 17th century it was a Thriving Port, in fact it was the only harbour in existence on the entire coastline between Aberthaw and Briton Ferry, exporting wheat, oats and knitted stockings and importing fruit and salt. The villagers took full advantage of the many ships that were wrecked on Black Rocks and Tuskar Rocks in the bay, causing a customs officer to state at the time that “the country people are quite outrageous and threaten our lives.” The ‘Jolly Sailor’ Inn was established and functioning in 1818 and is reputed to be the first Inn in the Parish. It was reputed to be closely associated with smuggling activities. Newton’s days as a port came to an end only with the construction of a proper harbour at nearby Porthcawl in 1825. Eventually a whole town sprung up around the new harbour and Newton reverted to being a quiet little hamlet adjoining a Sheltered Beach. The imposing limestone church was originally built as a fortress and was probably founded by the Order of St John of Jerusalem around 800 years ago. To the south of the church is St John's Well which in the Middle Ages was claimed to have magical, curative and holy properties.
Tours by foot - Newton
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