Spitty Farm Lliswerry
A farm that witnessed change
We first learned about Spitty Farm while researching this site in 2023. Demolished in the 1970s, it had disappeared before we were old enough to see it, and it was never mentioned in our family home. To our surprise, we discovered that this large historic farm had once stood beside the busy A48, directly across from what is now Newport Stadium. Even more fascinating was the revelation that in the 19th century, Spitty Farm had been home to our 3rd great-grandparents and was the birthplace of our 2nd great-grandmother, Catherine Williams.
Spitty Farm was located on Spitty Lane in the Lliswerry area of Newport, with a railway line skirting its boundaries. The name Lliswerry is an anglicised version of the Welsh Llyswyry, meaning Maiden’s Court. This name is thought to reference a manor house once owned by the Welsh King of Brycheiniog, whose daughter had ties to the estate. The manor was likely situated in what is now the Traston Road area.
Early History
One of the earliest recorded mentions of Spitty Farm appears in a 1758 survey of the Llanwern Estate, conducted by Robert Snell and Samuel Minshull. This survey, featuring finely detailed maps in ink and color-wash, listed Spitty Farm alongside two other properties we have researched for this website – Great Bulmoor and Pye Corner farms. 19th century maps further illustrate how farms, such as Bryngwyn, Lliswerry, Pill, Spitty and Upper Lakes once dominated the local landscape.
A notice in the press dated October 23rd 1840 shows Spitty Farm for sale, described as an “improvable and compact dairy farm” of around 125 acres. The farm had been occupied for many years by a widow, Mrs Martha Brain, at low rent. The notice goes on to say, “Lime is to be had within half-a-mile of the farm, and manure of every kind available obtained by land or water carriage from Newport at a trifling expense.” Tracts of land adjoining the farm were sold in 1842, 1852 and 1874, so the size of the farm may have changed.
The Williams Family (1847-1880)
The first record of our family at Spitty Farm dates to 1847, when our 3rd great-grandfather, Lewis Williams from Redwick, appears on the Electoral Register as the occupier of the land and house alongside his wife, Catherine (née Morgan).
Our 2nd great-grandmother, Catherine Alice Morgan Williams, was born at Spitty Farm on January 20th 1854. She had four siblings also born at Spitty. In 1868, Catherine married Ebenezer, and the couple lived at Spitty Farm for a short time before moving to their new home at Bryngwyn Farm. Ebenezer maintained a good relationship with his father-in-law, Lewis Williams, who bred horses at Spitty while Ebenezer handled their sale. We have found many records of Lewis winning prizes for his horses at local agricultural shows.
Retirement at the Farm
The 1861 Census records Lewis and Catherine Williams still residing at Spitty Farm, with Lewis listed as a farmer and employer. By 1871, Lewis was widowed but continued to live at Spitty, supported by his son, Lewis Augustus, and son-in-law, Ebenezer. The last record of Lewis at Spitty Farm is in 1874, when he was 67. At this time we believe the farm was rented from a Mapson Williams. By the 1881 Census, Lewis had retired and was living at Bryngwyn Farm with his son and daughter-in-law.
The 1881 and 1891 Censuses list James Phillips, a 58-year-old native of Redwick, as the farmer and dairyman at Spitty Farm, where he lived with his wife, Ellenor, and daughter, Sarah. Lewis Augustus Williams appears on the 1881 Census as a labourer at the farm and later reappears on the 1891 Census as a visitor alongside his father, Lewis. This suggests that James and the Williams family were well acquainted, both having ties to Redwick.
The Powell’s Arrive
By 1895, the Powell family had moved into Spitty farmhouse, with Edwin Powell, a stonemason, recorded on the Electoral Register as the house’s occupier. Communications were improving for farms and changes to the postal service meant that from 1898, the farm began receiving mail four days a week.
Records indicate that the Williams family remained the occupiers of the land at Spitty, with Lewis Augustus appearing on the Electoral Register for the land in 1900 and listed as a visitor at the farm on the 1901 Census. He was also known to keep a flock of sheep in a field off Corporation Road in the early 1900s.
From 1895 to 1910, Edwin Powell lived at Spitty Farmhouse with his wife, Elizabeth, and their seven children. During their time there, the nearby Orb Steelworks opened, becoming a prominent neighbour to Spitty Farm. Though not farmers themselves, the Powells were active in agricultural trade. Newspaper advertisements from 1907 show them selling cockerels, while in 1908, they were producing and selling cider from the farm’s orchards at a price of 10d per gallon. By 1910, they had also expanded into selling large quantities of bacon.
However, trouble arose at Spitty in January 1909 when Edwin’s son, William Edward Powell, was convicted of improper conduct with a local girl and fined 21 shillings. The following year, William was in court again for assaulting a dairyman from Corporation Road during a dispute over milk quality. Shortly afterward, the Powell family left Spitty Farm. Edwin Powell passed away just a year later in 1911, at Goldcliff House, aged 56.
The Haime Family
Following on from the Powell’s, the Haime family moved in and stayed until 1918. On the 1911 census the household comprised of Herbert and Eleanora Haime, their three daughters, son in law James Honeywood who was an electrician, as well as a farm labourer. In 1913 Spitty Farm suffered a significant loss when a large hay rick fire broke out, requiring 13 men to battle the flames and save half the hay.
In the same year, a planning application for new tube works on Corporation Road placed an obligation on the Mannesmann Company to construct a new road connecting Corporation Road to Spitty Farm. The work went ahead, and a row of workers cottages were built on Spitty Lane and named the Mannesmann villas. Spitty continued to be run as a dairy farm and In 1916 James Honeywood also advertised purebred dogs for sale from the farm. That same year the farm was also being used as a venue for annual school treat visits, suggesting it remained an active and well-known place in the community.
A Return To Spitty (1918-1970)
In 1918, Beatrice Hogg and her husband, Edwin, moved to Spitty Farm, where they began by tending a large flock of sheep. Beatrice, the daughter of Ebenezer and Catherine Phillips, was born at Spitty Farm in 1877 but grew up at Bryngwyn Farm. She married Edwin Heckley Hogg in 1900. At the time, Edwin worked as a railway cashier, but he later transitioned to farming. The couple initially settled at Court Perrott Farm in Llandegveth, where they had a daughter, Alice.
According to the 1921 census, Beatrice and Edwin were living at Spitty with their daughter Alice, then 20, and a farm worker named James Kerr. Over the years, the Hoggs employed many workers, including farmer Frank Edwards in 1927. Newspaper advertisements from the time offer insights into the farm’s operations. That same year, the Hoggs established a milk round, and their extensive orchards produced cider – though the orchards occasionally attracted thieves! Managing a large dairy herd was not without its difficulties, and various ads indicate they sometimes struggled to sell all their milk.
On June 2nd 1927, Alice Hogg married John (Jack) Waters of Nash. The newlyweds initially lived with Alice’s parents at Spitty Farm, and had two children, Richard and Rosemary Waters, before moving to a farm of their own in 1931. In December 1932, Edwin became embroiled in a contract dispute when a dairyman failed to collect milk from the farm. Arguing that he was entitled to seven days’ notice, Edwin was ultimately awarded only one day’s payment, as he was unable to prove that farmers had a legal right to a notice period.
Edwin continued farming at Spitty until his death in January 1946, leaving his estate to Beatrice. In January 1948, the town council entered negotiations to purchase Spitty Farm, though it is unclear whether these were unsuccessful or if an agreement allowed Beatrice to remain. She continued to live there for many years, joined for a while by her grandson Richard. Beatrice witnessed Lliswerry’s transformation from a rural landscape to an increasingly industrialised and built-up residential area. Beatrice passed away in 1970.
Spitty Farm Today
Spitty Farm was redeveloped for housing in the 1970s, but its legacy endures in the continued existence of Spitty Lane – now spelled Spytty Lane. The wider area has changed beyond recognition, with farms and even the once-thriving ironworks now distant memories. Today, Lliswerry is known for its retail park, business park, athletic stadium, college, and housing estates. However, the magnificent Lysaght Institute still stands as a lasting reminder of the past.
Something to add to the story of Spitty Farm? Please email us: [email protected]
