For six decades Robert Powell toured the country with his fire eating show where he would eat hot coals as if they were bread, eat a soup of brimstone and lead and even broil beef over a hot coal on his tongue. In 1753 and 1766 he visited the King's Head in Newport.
A report from 1854 discussing the diets of the prisons of the county gaols including ensuring that the food was below that of a workhouse to discourage people choosing a prison life.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Allt-yr-Yn was home to a very popular ice skating field. Hundreds would attend daily making its owners a sizeable sum of money.
In September 1770, a large house belonging to a Mrs Kemeys was advertised for sale located near the Market House on High Street. But where exactly was it?
The Tredegar Cattle Show ran for over 100 years from 1819 first at Court-y-Bella Farm and then Newport Cattle Market. This is just a brief snippet from a few years in the 19th century.
A miserable, lean, and idiotic-looking elf with the vacant stare of a maniac, and the tattered appearance of a thoroughbred vagrant. A Baneswell resident charged with singing in the street.