The old town hall in Commercial Street built in 1885 which featured a 150 feet (46 m) high tower[2]
The first town hall, which was located in Commercial Street and designed in the classical style, was officially opened on 31 January 1843;[3] after this was found to be too small it was replaced a second structure, also in Commercial Street, which was designed by Thomas Meakin Lockwood in the Renaissance style and completed in 1885.[4][5] After deciding the second town hall was also inadequate for their needs, civic leaders chose to procure a new civic centre: the site they selected had previously been occupied by a property known as St Mary's Lodge in Fields Road.[6][7]
The ceremonial first sod on the new building was cut by King George VI, accompanied by Queen Elizabeth, on 14 July 1937.[1] Following a design competition, it was designed by Thomas Cecil Howitt in the Art Deco style and built using Portland stone.[8] Progress was delayed by the advent of the Second World War but resumed after the war: the building was fitted out, a collection of 12 murals by the German artist Hans Feibusch were installed and the clock tower was finished.[1] The building, which Newman in The Buildings of Wales described as "something of a disappointment", finally opened in 1964.[8]
The design involved a very wide symmetrical frontage with 37 bays facing Fields Road; the central section of five bays featured a huge full-height round-headed entrance on the ground floor and a clock tower above; there were wings to the east and west, each of seven bays, and beyond that there were side bays, each of nine bays.[1] A court complex was built to the south of the main building between 1989 and 1991.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the mayor's parlour.[1] The building was the meeting place of Newport Borough Council until the town was granted formal city status as part of a contest for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 and the building then became the home of Newport City Council.[9]
A sandstone plaque to commemorate the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort, which had been placed in the pavement outside the civic centre, was unveiled on 7 October 2011.[10] Works of art in the civic centre include a sculpture by David Evans depicting two straining miners entitled "Labour".[11]
