Pillgwenlly
| Pillgwenlly | |
| Pillgwenlli | |
 The Waterloo Hotel |
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  Pillgwenlly |
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| Population | 7,318 (2011 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ST315875 |
| Principal area | Newport |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWPORT |
| Postcode district | NP20 2 |
| Dialling code | 01633 Savoy exchange |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Newport West |
Coordinates: 51°34′56″N 2°59′24″W / 51.58218°N 2.99001°W
Pillgwenlly (Welsh: Pillgwenlli) is an electoral district (ward) and coterminous community parish in the city of Newport, South Wales. The area is governed by the Newport City Council.
Origin of the name
Its name may come from 'Pwll' the Welsh language word for a water inlet, harbour or pool, and 'Gwenlly', a corruption of the name of Saint Gwynllyw, the name meaning Gwynllyw's harbour. Supposedly it derives from the period when Gwynllyw was a pirate and he based his ships in this area.[2]
Boundaries
The ward is bounded by the River Usk to the east and southeast, the Ebbw River to the southwest, the Great Western Main Line to the west and Cardiff Road to the north.
Heart of Newport
It is an inner-city district to the south of the city centre and the built-up area is commonly shortened to "Pill". It contains the Newport Docks and the western ends of the Newport Transporter Bridge,[3] City Bridge and George Street Bridge.
Pill is known for its close-knit community spirit and for its ethnic diversity. Pill has most of the residents of foreign descent within the city, due largely to the location of the Old Town Docks, where a large influx of English and Irish immigrants, among others, came to work. The streets of Pill also host the annual Pill Carnival, on the last weekend of August. The Old Town Dock area is currently undergoing a huge mixed-use regeneration to bring the derelict dock lands back into use. A lively market takes place on a Saturday morning at the Newport Auctions site.
Portland Street in Pill was the birthplace, in 1871, of the famous "Tramp Poet" W. H. Davies and the nearby Church House Inn, where he was brought up by his grandparents, has a commemorative blue plaque.
The opening line 'Libraries gave us power' of the 1996 song A Design for Life, by Blackwood band Manic Street Preachers, was inspired by the legend above the entrance to the former Carnegie Library.
In 2012 the TV drama series Being Human featured internal and external cafe scenes filmed in Pill near the Transporter Bridge.
Sporting traditions
Pill Harriers RFC is a successful rugby union team affiliated to the Welsh Rugby Union, whose membership was historically made up from the local dock workers. In its past it supplied many players to both Newport and Wales. Tony Pulis, manager of West Bromwich Albion F.C., was born in Pill.[4]
References
- ↑ "Newport ward 2011.Retrieved 5 April 2015".
- ↑ Robin Gwyndaf, Welsh Folk Tales (National Museum of Wales, 1989), p. 96
- ↑ Newport: floodlit bridge:: OS grid ST3186 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!
- ↑ http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/football/gwent/9013047.print/
External links
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