Crosscurrents….. Book Launch

The Friends of Newport Ship and CWTSH invite you to our Book Launch at 2.00pm on Saturday 18 February, at the Newport Medieval Ship Centre.

Inspired by the Newport Medieval Ship, Cwtsh Creative Writers have produced a fascinating collection of tales and poems.  Imagination is stirred as these talented writers take you to eclectic visions from the past.

A treasure trove of fired imaginations, heads got together to fuse a cauldron of creativity. ‘Crosscurrents‘ is the first anthology of Cwtsh Writers who have woven magic through their fingers.  These stories and poems will surprise and delight with their variations on a theme. They bring to life the vibrancy of fifteenth century living in Newport and touch upon mysteries surrounding an enormous ship that found its way here quite by chance.

Copies of the book will be available for sale in the cabin at just £4.50 with profits split between Cwtsh and the Friends of Newport Ship.

Newport Medieval Ship Centre, Unit 20, Estuary Road, Queensway Meadows Ind.Estate, Newport, NP19 4SP.

Christmas is Coming! Get yours now!!

The Friends of Newport Ship are pleased to announce that we have a special 15th Anniversary Calendar and Christmas Cards available for purchase.

As you will see from the attached image, the calendar celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the discovery of our ship and is dedicated to the memory of Kate Hunter. The pictures in the calendar are a chronological illustration of the Ship Project to date.

The Christmas cards are 5 to a pack and the message inside is  “Seasons Greetings”.  On the back there is a short description of the Newport Ship Project.

The calendars are £6.50 each and the Christmas cards are £5 a pack. These are available from the Cabin shop at the Ship Centre which is open every Saturday (10.30am – 4.00pm) until 10th December. There is also stock of the calendars at ‘Crafted’, in the Kingsway Centre in Newport (next to Peacocks)

Alternatively, you can order them from FoNS and we will post them to you. Postage and packing cost £1 for the calendars and £1 for up to 5 packs of Christmas cards. Please contact us for details of how to pay.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to your taking advantage of the limited quantity we have of these excellent calendars and Christmas cards.

HMS Severn visits the Newport Medieval Ship Project

HMS Severn, a River-class offshore protection vessel visited Newport last weekend. The ship is affiliated with the City of Newport and visits every year to further cement this relationship.  As part of this annual visit, the ship hosts a Reception and Capability Display to entertain their honoured guests and explain the duties that the ship performs.

During this reception, Phil Cox (Chairman of FoNS) and Charles Ferris (Patron) presented the Commanding Officer, officers and ship’s company with a framed print of our treasured Peter Power painting of the Newport Medieval Ship shown off Brean Down in the Severn estuary.

l-r: S/Lt Isaac Salt, Jean Grey (FoNS), Lt Chris Poulson and Lt Paul Coyne

 

This print will be displayed in the wardroom along with a magnificent silver model of an early interpretation of our Ship, which shows the ‘minimum construction’ hull form, but only shows a single mast.  More recent modelling of our Ship and her sailing characteristics confirm that the Newport Medieval Ship would have had 3 masts as now displayed on the print.

The silver model was commissioned by the wardroom of HMS Severn and created by Langford’s Silversmiths of Chancery Lane.  We are very pleased HMS Severn chose our Ship as a subject for their wardroom silver, and we are very jealous!

Three officers from HMS Severn were able to visit the Medieval Ship Centre on Saturday, and returned the favour on Sunday by entertaining their hosts on board.

The Newport Medieval Ship Centre is open every Friday, Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday until the end of October 2016.  Come down and hear the story of how our Basque-built ship came to Newport and never left!  Check our web site for more details (www.newportship.org)

FoNS at 700th Anniversary of City of Cremieu’s Charter & ‘Fete Medievales’

Over the weekend of 12-13 September, two ‘friends’ of Newport Ship visited the small city of Cremieu, near Lyon in southern France, to join the celebrations for the 700th anniversary of the city’s charter, at their own expense .  The little French coin,
found in the prime joint of the Newport Medieval Ship’s keel, was minted in Cremieu in 1447 – the first clue that archaeologists had about the age of the Ship.  In celebration of this Charles Ferris struck over 150 replica coins, with the proceeds being split between the Friends of Newport Ship and the local heritage group.  The last 20 of these were actually struck on the site of the ancient mint and will be sold as a ‘special edition’ collector’s item by the Friends from the Ship Centre.

The French celebrate their ‘fete medieval’ in style.  A grand parade processed through the city on both days, a fayre, tournament and market filled the walls of this beautiful ancient city.  A magnificent banquet was held on Saturday night in the medieval market building for 800 guests, including Charles Ferris (patron) and Phil Cox (chairman) of the Friends of Newport Ship, with friends from the associated heritage group, ‘les Heures de Cremieu’.

The entertainment over the weekend was spectacular: minstrels, jugglers, fire-eaters, beautiful illuminated ladies on stilts and the amazing Italian flag-thowing (sabandiatori) troupe from Tuscany, were joined by the people of the city, all of whom dressed to impress in medieval costumes.  Visiting groups of re-enactors from around France represented Vikings, Knights Templar, Knights Hospitalier, Mongol hoards and other medieval periods.

The weekend’s highlight took place on the tournament field with the planting of a tree and the burying of a time capsule by the Mayor and local children.  This contained a replica of the Newport Ship’s coin – not to be opened for another 70 years, sealed beneath an inscribed stone to mark the spot.

The Friends presented the local Mayor and Regional Deputy Monsieur Alain Moyne-Bressand with letters of congratulation from Newport’s own Mayor, Cllr Herbie Thomas, and from Dame Rosemary Butler, Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly.

The hospitality shown by the local people was extremely generous, and the support for Newport’s Medieval Ship project was very enthusiastic, heralding future collaboration. The striking of the replica ‘petit blanc’ coin took place alongside special talks given about the original mint that was in Cremieu which was the source of the city’s power and influence.  As a matter of note, we were found lodgings in the building that was once Cremieu’s small but prosperous mint.

We have been invited back next year.  It will be another wonderful experience that we might be able to share more widely!

Until then, come and visit the Newport Medieval Ship project. We are open on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of October when our winter schedule kicks in.