Newport Civic Centre

The Newport Civic Centre is a large, U-shaped building constructed in the 1930s, facing southeast. It is set into a sloping site. The main elevations are clad in panels of unbonded Portland stone, with a basement of rock-faced Derbyshire sandstone. The roofs are covered in brown pantiles featuring deep, coffered eaves. Steel casement windows are used throughout.

The front elevation, facing southeast, is three stories high, with a taller, two-story central block housing the council chamber. This block has five bays, and the upper windows are taller with a balcony extending across the centre three bays. The ground floor is rusticated. A tall, tapering clock tower rises above the central block, set on a low, square base and capped with a pyramidal roof. The tower has panelled sides, a simple clock face, and three small square openings below the eaves on each side. The flanks of the central block have seven bays, with the outer bays slightly projecting, and hipped roofs. The lower two floors have parapet roofs that project in front of the end bays.

Longer wings extend to the sides, stepped down the slope in three stages, comprising 1, 11, and 6 bays respectively. These wings have flat roofs hidden behind parapets, and rock-faced plinths at their base. The lowest sections of the wings have two-story, five-bay southeast-facing entrances. The centre entrance bay of each section is taller and projects forward, topped with a pyramidal roof. The entrances are set within giant round-arched openings with glazing above, following a design similar to that of the Cambridge University Library by Giles Gilbert Scott. Cable mouldings feature on these openings, and the projecting door surrounds are made of polished black granite set within Portland stone frames, with carved and painted shields above.

The northeast elevation steps up the slope in three two-story blocks, each slightly advanced of the others. These blocks contain 6, 11, and 5 bays respectively. The southwest elevation mirrors this design, with a 1939 date above the entrance, and a taller, pyramid-roofed centre bay housing an entrance within a giant, cable-moulded arch. The northwest elevation contains the current main entrance. This section is two stories high and fifteen bays wide, with the upper story set behind a parapet. A wide central bay contains the entrance, set within a giant arch. Later glazing and a balcony are present. Returns to the centre block include single bays with round-arched service entries leading to a southeast court. One range to the left consists of nine bays, and the range to the right has eight bays, including delivery doors in the centre.

Inside, a square entrance hall features flights of stairs leading to a four-sided balcony. Artificial lighting is provided from a central square ceiling panel raised above three tiers of coffering. A landing displays a series of eleven murals dating from 1961-64, depicting the history of the county, from its early Celtic settlements to the opening of the George Street bridge in 1964. A central bronze sculpture, titled 'Labour', by David Evans R.A., created in 1929, is also prominently displayed. The Council Chamber, located on the upper floor of the central range, has a coffered ceiling and tiered, semi-circular seating made of light timber. A Mayor’s parlour and office are located to the north.