Charabanc Outside 442 Corporation Road, Late 1920s

A photo kindly sent to us by Alan George who wrote:

"This picture shows number 442 Corporation Rd, at the corner of Gaskell Street. opposite the Corporation Hotel. Johns's Newport street directory of 1939 has St Patrick's Catholic Mission Hall standing on this site, along with a telephone kiosk. Today this is the site of the Columba club, and a modern phone box still stands in the same position, outside the entrance.
The old telephone box suggests that the picture was taken in the late 1920s. Mary Hughes, of Halstead St, born in Ireland in 1879 and a regular catholic churchgoer, is seated behind the driver. Perhaps it shows the departure of a St Patrick's church outing.
1909 saw the establishment of a catholic mission, coinsidered part of the parish of St Mary's, Stow Hill, at 442 Corporation Rd. This was to cater for the large number of catholic steelworkers who had come down to the area from Wolverhampton when John Lysaght's company moved to Newport. 1924 saw the purchase of land in Cromwell Road where the present day church stands and the establishment of the separate parish of St Patrick. However, it was not until after almost 40 years in the 'temporary church' on that site, that the present day St Patrick's church was finally opened in 1963."

The charabanc has a Newport registration number: DW 2562