Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a town in west Gloucestershire, England. It depends on the Royal Woodland of Dean, on the west financial institution of the River Severn, about 10 miles south-west of Gloucester as well as three miles southeast of Cinderford. It gets on the A48 road in between Gloucester and Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The town has a parish council. A parish church was established in the 14th century (although there had actually been a church of ease because 1018), and also in 1366 a brand-new church structure was improved the high ground of the town as the old one encountered erosion from the river. The brand-new building has itself been harmed by a gunpowder explosion in 1644 during the English Civil War as well as a fire in 1881, yet is still in use. As a result of Newnham's location on the Severn, the Old Romans developed 3 roads through the location, where they forded the river. The Anglo-Saxons established a long-term negotiation, the Normans constructed a motte-and-bailey stronghold for defence, as well as in middle ages times it became a major port with links around Great Britain as well as Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England presented an invasion of Ireland from Newnham. One account asserted that he set sail with 400 ships and also 5,000 men, which recommends its relevance as a port. Temporarily Newnham was one of the most effective Gloucestershire community west of the Severn. Its function as a port as well as trading center declined, however, swiftly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester and also Sharpness Canal. In 1810, an early attempt at a Severn tunnel began construction just south of Newnham. Job was deserted after flooding in 1812. The civil parish becomes part of Newnham as well as Westbury electoral ward. This ward begins in the north at Westbury-on-Severn and then adheres to the River Severn to Newnham. The complete population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,088.