Welcome to Newark-on-Trent

Newark-on-Trent, as the name suggests, is located on the River Trent, in the county of Nottinghamshire, approximately 132 miles north of London and 17 miles south-west of Lincoln.

The town has a population of around 37,000. Administratively it is the seat of the local government district of Newark and Sherwood which covers an area of approximately 651 sq kms and which has a population of around 108,000.

It is a busy market town, centred around its ancient cobblestoned marketplace, with some fine architecture and numerous historic buildings. Most notably amongst these are the remains of its 12th-century castle where King John died in 1216 and which was one of the few Royalist strongholds to withstand Cromwell's forces during the Civil War. There are good shopping and leisure facilities and many visitor attractions within a short distance.

The town's history dates from the 7th century. It probably originated from its position on the great Roman Road called Fosse Way. Remains from an Anglo Saxon cemetary, used from the 5th to the 7th centuries, have been found in the town. In a document dated 664, said to be a charter, Newark is mentioned as having been granted to the Abbey of Peterborough by Wulfhere, King of Mercia.In the 11th century the town belonged to Godiva and Leofric, Earl of Mercia. In 1055 they gifted it to the monastery at Stowe. The Castle was built by Bishop Alexander of Lincoln in 1123, under a Charter granted by Henry I. He also granted a Charter for a five day fair to be held annually at the Castle. A Charter was also granted by Stephen to establish a mint in the town. King John died in the town in 1216. In 1377, poll tax records show that the adult population was 1,178, making it one of the bigger towns in the country. During Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, the vicar of Newark, Henry Lytherland, was executed when he refused to acknowledge the king as head of the church. In 1549 Newark was incorporated under an  alderman and twelve assistants, the charter being confirmed and extended by Elizabeth I. Newark was the mainstay of the Royalist cause during the Civil War. It was attacked and beseiged by Parliament several times, and the cavalry from Newark fought with the King's forces in the Battle of Naseby in June 1645. At the final siege in November of the same year, the town held out until May 1646, when Charles I ordered its surrender , which was only accepted under protest from the town's garrison. The defences and castle were destroyed, leaving the remains which can be seen today. During Victorian times industrial expansion saw the town's population grow from under 7,000 in 1800 to 15,000 by the end of the 19th century. Over the last fifty years, however, there have been many factory closures. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 25,376.

Historically the town's economy was based upon the wool and cloth trade, and in more recent times, sugar refining and clothing and other industries. Today the largest employer in the town is a bearings factory (part of the NSK group)  which employs 800 people.

The name Newark derives from Old English 'niwe' and 'weorc' meaning 'new fortification or building' on the River Trent. In 1080 the town was listed as 'Niweweorce', and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Neuuerche'.