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 Pubs, Hotels & Breweries | Public Buildings | Places of Worship Newtown Town Trails - Public Buildings The town does not have many public buildings but those remaining reflect the history of the town very well. Some have seen a variety of changes since their construction. Others have long since been demolished, like the market hall that stood in the middle of Broad Street. This is a guide to them involving a short walk around the town centre. It begins in High Street close to the Tourist Information Centre.
The building to the left of the entrance in Market Street (now Robert Owen Credit Union) was the Market Vaults public house. The blocked hatch through which the market traders bought their ale from the pub can still be seen inside the Hall.
3. The Cross Buildings, a bright terracotta office block in a Dutch Renaissance style designed by Wood & Kendrick of Birmingham, were originally occupied by Barclay’s Bank and three shops, but the bank has since extended into all but one of the shops. The building was erected by Sarah Brisco to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1897. Although it bears the date 1899 it was not completed until 1900 when the town clock was presented to the Town Council by Miss Brisco. The clock is still referred to as "Sarah" by many townspeople.
5. Across the bridge in Commercial Street is the Textile Museum, housed in the flannel weaving floors above six back-to-back cottages built about 1830, during the boom in flannel production. The whole area, Penygloddfa, was developed in the early 19th century and it is well worth exploring the yards and houses, some with their flannel factory above, and the separate factories. The whole industrial complex is of international importance.
Behind the Flannel Exchange The Montgomeryshire Infirmary was opened in 1868. The hospital moved to a new site on Llanfair Road in 1911 and the Infirmary building has been demolished. 7. In Back Lane stands the Old Police Station built in about 1870 to a design by David Walker in a muted Gothic Revival style. The police have moved to a modern HQ in Park Lane. 8. The Oriel Davies Gallery. On the south-east side of the town are the railway station and the Royal Welsh Warehouse which are well worth exploring. The station was built in 1868 for the Cambrian Railways replacing an earlier one. It is in a Gothic style and still has many of its original features. The Royal Welsh Warehouse is one of the most prominent buildings in the town. It was built in 1879 by David Walker for Pryce Jones who had founded the world's first mail order business in 1859. The building was added to in stages. Both the outside and interior have a wealth of detail commemorating Queen Victoria and Pryce-Jones’ success at exhibitions in Philadelphia in 1896 and Vienna in 1873. Agriculture House opposite was built as a factory for Pryce Jones in 1895.  Pubs, Hotels & Breweries | Public Buildings | Places of Worship  |
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1. The Market Hall was built at the expense of Wastel Brisco of Newtown Hall to a design by David Walker in 1870. The High Street frontage was given a new face by the then Mid Wales New Town Development Corporation in 1976. Inside it is a hangar-like building with a plain iron roof on iron columns. During the Second World War one side of the building became one of four depots in the town used for storing the Royal Navy’s entire stock of rum.
2. The Free Library was built on The Cross on land given by Sarah Brisco. The foundation stone was laid in 1902. The Co-operative Union, mindful of the links between Robert Owen and the town, gave £1000 towards the building costs, subscribers and the Urban District Council finding the balance. It was designed by Frank Hearn Shayler of Shrewsbury in an Arts and Crafts style. The lower storey is of brick and stone with a striking first floor Art Nouveau timber-framing with a small balcony on the corner, The building now houses the Robert Owen Museum with Town Council chamber and offices above.
4. The Long Bridge a cross the River Severn was designed by the County Surveyor Thomas Penson in 1826. It replaced a wooden bridge which crossed the river from Broad Street to Frankwell Street, which was the main route out of the town. Following the development of Penygloddfa on the north bank the new bridge was found to be too narrow for the increased traffic it was carrying so Penson added the iron-arched footways in 1857, replacing the original parapets.
6. The Flannel Exchange, again by Thomas Penson, was an integral part of that industry. It was built in 1830-32 at the instigation of William Pugh of Kerry and other manufacturers in an attempt to capture the flannel market from Welshpool. Certainly the grandest building in the town, it has paired Doric pilasters on a plinth with a screen of later pillars. When not in use for the sale of flannel it became The Public Rooms. It was used for concerts, exhibitions, auctions, lectures, conferences and bazaars, also the Quarter Sessions and Summer Assizes. During a typical year, 1881, it hosted a concert by the united Choral Society, Signor Bosco, ‘the only Conjuror and Ventriloquist in the world’ performed and Dr. Kirton gave a lecture on ‘An Evening with the Water Drinkers of the Bible’. By 1890 the front part of the building had become the Post Office. Occasional films had been shown in the Public Rooms from before the turn of the century, but in 1920 it became the Scala Cinema. When the Post Office moved to its new premises in Short Bridge Street in 1937 the entire building was remodelled in Art Deco style to become the Regent Cinema. The building now houses a number of leisure facilities. It is an example of Greek revival architecture of plastered brick. On the side is a surviving Art Deco window.