History was made on the river banks of Newport City Centre today as the first ever statue in Gwent of a female was unveiled.

The ceremony was hosted by Monumental Welsh Women and saw floods of women and men making their way to the riverbanks of Newport.

The event began with a performance of a medley of Suffragette songs from Lady Rhondda’s Suffragette Women, who were joined by local school children from St Woolos Primary School and Maindee Primary School.

This was followed by a reading of a specially commissioned poem by Gillian Clarke, who had travelled from Ceredigion for the occasion.

Alongside many attendees dressed in suffragette colours were some influential Newport-based women such as MS Jane Bryant, MP Jessica Morden and PCC Jane Mudd.

Both said they felt 'proud' to be there. (Image: Newsquest) The 8ft bronze and weathered steel statue of Lady Rhondda is sited on the eastern side of the Millennium Footbridge in Newport city centre.

Jane Robbins was the artist behind the sculpture and explains how her role in the event 'was an honour.'

Previous works of hers include a statue of Linda McCartney in Campbelltown Museum, Scotland and a bust of Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst for the Pankhurst Centre in Manchester. 

(Image: Monumental Welsh Women) Lady Rhondda, born Margaret Haig Thomas, was a Suffragette, a global business woman, a journalist and editor and lifelong campaigner for women’s equality.

Her 40 year campaign for female peers resulted in women being able to sit in the House of Lords.

She died before the law she fought for was changed, too late to take her own seat.  

Newport's statue is the fourth of five statues of women shortlisted as Wales’ hidden heroines following a national campaign, broadcast by BBC Wales in 2019.     

The other five women honoured with a statue include:   

  • Betty Campbell (unveiled in 2021 in Cardiff) 

  • Elaine Morgan (unveiled in 2022 in Mountain Ash) 

  • Sarah Jane Reese, known as Cranogwen (unveiled in Llangrannog in 2023) 

  • Elizabeth Andrews (statue due be unveiled in 2025)

Also present was the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt. She said: "Lady Rhondda showed others what could be achieved and helped them to take action, to believe in themselves and what they were fighting for.

"Where she led, others have followed.

"Through her life and work, she illustrated her desire for a better and more equal world, a belief I very much share.

"It has been a privilege to be at the unveiling of this magnificent statue which will lead people to find out more about Lady Rhondda and her legacy.

"In so doing, it will serve to inspire and educate this generation and the next to follow their dreams and fulfil their potential."

If you wanted to visit the statue yourself, it is next to Quarter's Coffee on Millennium Walk.