Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. It hinges on the Royal Woodland of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, roughly 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and also three miles southeast of Cinderford. It is on the A48 road in between Gloucester and also 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 convenience because 1018), as well as in 1366 a brand-new church building was built on the high ground of the town as the old one dealt with erosion from the river. The new building has itself been damaged by a gunpowder surge in 1644 throughout the English Civil War and a fire in 1881, yet is still being used. Because of Newnham's place on the Severn, the Old Romans constructed 3 roads with the area, where they forded the river. The Anglo-Saxons established an irreversible negotiation, the Normans constructed a motte-and-bailey stronghold for support, and also in medieval times it became a significant port with links around Great Britain and also Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England presented an intrusion of Ireland from Newnham. One account claimed that he dove in with 400 ships and 5,000 males, which recommends its relevance as a port. For a while Newnham was one of the most effective Gloucestershire town west of the Severn. Its duty as a port and trading hub decreased, nonetheless, quickly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester and also Sharpness Canal. In 1810, a very early effort at a Severn tunnel began building and construction simply south of Newnham. Job was deserted after flooding in 1812. The civil parish belongs to Newnham and Westbury electoral ward. This ward begins in the north at Westbury-on-Severn and then follows the River Severn to Newnham. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,088.