Caerleon

Caerleon
A photograph taken from a house window on Caerleon Road in St Julians. The view crosses the river Usk and in the distance is the Caerleon Golf Club, and behind it, the settlement of Caerleon, on the hill with rows of houses visible. At the far right are the visible buildings of Caerleon Comprehensive School and its sports facilities.
Caerleon from St Julians
A map of Newport, Wales, showing the location of the town of Caerleon as a red dot
A map of Newport, Wales, showing the location of the town of Caerleon as a red dot
Caerleon
Location within Newport
Area9.03 sq mi (23.4 km2[1]
Population8,061 [2][full citation needed]
• Density893/sq mi (345/km2) [3]
DemonymCaerleonite
LanguageEnglish
Cymraeg (Welsh)
OS grid referenceST336909
• Cardiff13 mi (21 km) westwards
• London122 mi (196 km) eastwards
Community
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWPORT
Postcode districtNP18
Dialling code01633
PoliceGwent
FireSouth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
Website"Newport City Council". newport.gov.uk.
List of places
UK
Wales
Newport
51°36′54″N 2°57′32″W / 51.615°N 2.959°W / 51.615; -2.959

Caerleon (/kərˈlən/ kər-LEE-ən; Welsh: Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk,[4][5] it lies 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Newport city centre, and 5.5 miles (9 km) southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort. Close to the remains of Isca Augusta are the National Roman Legion Museum and the Roman Baths Museum. The town also has strong historical and literary associations: Geoffrey of Monmouth elevated the significance of Caerleon as a major centre of British history in his Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136), and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote Idylls of the King (1859–1885) while staying in Caerleon.

  1. ^ "Caerleon Profile" (PDF) (final ed.). 2017.
  2. ^ Census, 2011
  3. ^ List of Welsh principal areas by population density
  4. ^ "Caerleon – Newport City Council". www.newport.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  5. ^ "The River Usk, looking downstream". Geograph (geograph.org.uk). Retrieved 15 December 2016. (c) Roger Cornfoot