Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a village 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 and 3 miles southeast of Cinderford. It gets on the A48 road in between Gloucester as well as Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The village has a parish council. A parish church was established in the 14th century (although there had actually been a church of ease because 1018), as well as in 1366 a new church structure was built on the high ground of the village as the old one faced disintegration from the river. The new building has itself been damaged by a gunpowder explosion in 1644 during the English Civil War and also a fire in 1881, yet is still in operation. Due to Newnham's location on the Severn, the Ancient Romans constructed 3 roads via the location, where they forded the river. The Anglo-Saxons established an irreversible settlement, the Normans built a motte-and-bailey stronghold for defence, as well as in medieval times it ended up being a major port with links around Great Britain and also Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England presented an invasion of Ireland from Newnham. One account asserted that he set out with 400 ships and also 5,000 men, which recommends its relevance as a port. For a while Newnham was the most successful Gloucestershire community west of the Severn. Its duty as a port as well as trading hub decreased, however, swiftly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester as well as Sharpness Canal. In 1810, an early attempt at a Severn tunnel began building just south of Newnham. Work was deserted after flooding in 1812. The civil parish is part of Newnham and Westbury selecting ward. This ward starts in the north at Westbury-on-Severn and afterwards complies with the River Severn to Newnham. The overall population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,088.