Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a town in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the Royal Forest of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, about 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and 3 miles southeast of Cinderford. It is 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 new church building was built on the high ground of the village as the old one encountered erosion from the river. The new structure has itself been harmed by a gunpowder surge in 1644 throughout the English Civil War and also a fire in 1881, however is still in operation. Due to Newnham's location on the Severn, the Ancient Romans constructed three roads with the area, where they forded the river. The Anglo-Saxons established an irreversible negotiation, the Normans developed a motte-and-bailey stronghold for protection, and in middle ages times it became a significant port with web links around Great Britain and also Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England staged an invasion of Ireland from Newnham. One account claimed that he set sail with 400 ships as well as 5,000 guys, which recommends its importance as a port. Temporarily Newnham was one of the most effective Gloucestershire community west of the Severn. Its duty as a port as well as trading hub decreased, nonetheless, swiftly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester and also Sharpness Canal. In 1810, an early effort at a Severn passage started building and construction just south of Newnham. Work was deserted after flooding in 1812. The civil parish belongs to Newnham as well as Westbury selecting ward. This ward begins in the north at Westbury-on-Severn and after that complies with the River Severn to Newnham. The complete population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,088.