Newport then and now: Looking to the past to see how the town has changed

Newport, even though it is part of Telford and Wrekin today, has always stood apart from the rest of Shropshire.

Since the Saxons, people throughout history have lived and worked on its land - and caught fish nearby.

And all that history has left its mark on the town, as you can see from these black and white photos of the town from throughout the 20th century.

Below we've compared some of the spots they show with their modern equivalents to see what has changed - and what hasn't.

St Nicholas Church

The church is one of the town centre's most recognisable landmarks and will be familiar to any Novaportan.

It has stood in some form or another since the 12th century, being rebuilt in 1360.

This postcard photo came with very little information and the date of the picture is unknown - perhaps around 1905.

You can see the cobblestones that mark the lower end of St Mary's Street on the left of the photo, and see how the church tower once towered imposingly over the trees in the small churchyard.

Nowadays the trees are much taller, and give the churchyard more of a secluded feel in the centre of Newport despite the hustle and bustle.

This old postcard has very little information with it, but we can tell it is St Nicholas Parish Church from the low end of the High Street, with St Mary's Street's cobblestones visible on the left

What does it look like now?

St Nicholas Church from the bottom end of St Mary's Street

Upper Bar

Newport Carnival has always been a big deal - just take a look at the parade make its way up Upper Bar towards the High Street.

This photo is from 40 years ago, in the summer of 1982 - you can make out the familiar curve of the road away from St Nicholas Church and the Puleston Cross (the relatively small butter cross on the paved area).

One of the businesses on the left of the photo appears to be Henshaws of Shropshire - the Hide Specialists. That building today is a coffee shop and art gallery.

Newport Carnival procession in the summer of 1982. Note St Nicholas Parish Church in the background

What does it look like now?

Looking down Upper Bar from outside what is now a Greggs. St Nicholas Church is visible further down the street

Canal Bridge, Lower Bar

The bridge over Newport Canal wasn't at its best when this photo was taken in 1974 - it had been hit by a car the week before.

Luckily the county council was able to patch up the damage - just as well as a few years earlier the bridge had been designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

It is believed to date to the 1830s and is known as a 'roving bridge' where horses attached to boats could cross over the water without being unhitched.

The canal bridge at the bottom of the High Street, an ancient monument, was damaged badly when it was hit by a car in 1974. County council workers were photographed repairing it the following week

What does it look like now?

Cosy Hall

You wouldn't know it from looking at it, but Cosy Hall was empty and unloved for many years before it was restored to its former glory.

This photo was taken in 1979, when the building overlooking the canal was derelict. It was used as a music hall earlier in the 20th century before falling empty.

Happily, it came into the hands of a charitable trust that brought it back into use and renovated it.

Now it is proudly billed as 'Newport's Community Building' and is hired by people from all walks of life every day of the week. Not many people from Newport won't have attended a birthday party or two at Cosy Hall in their time.

Cosy Hall in Newport lying derelict n 1979. It was restored and reopened on November 3, 1985

What does it look like now?

Stafford Street

Stafford Street being full of shops is obviously not a new development - the caption that came with this picture indicates that the traders were grumbling about the roadworks that they say were affecting business.

It's impossible to make out what colour the paint on the pretty shopfronts was back then in 1975, but today they're all the distinctive powder blue of the market hall that encloses them.

We think we can spot Davindera Drapers in what is now Mary's Tots & Teens, and the bar Society is one of the newer additions to Stafford Street.

Roadworks in Stafford Street proved a nuisance for traders in June 1975 - this photo came with the caption: 'The roadworks in Stafford Street, Newport, that traders claim are ruining business.'

What does it look like now?

Stafford Street as it appears today, with the refurbished blue market building opposite