Editing Newark-on-Trent (section)

==Geography==
By road, Newark is {{convert|21|mi}} from [[Nottingham]], {{convert|19|mi}} from [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] and {{convert|40|mi}} from [[Leicester]]. All are connected to the town by the [[A46 road]]. The town is also around {{convert|20|mi}} from [[Mansfield, Nottinghamshire|Mansfield]], {{convert|14|mi}} from [[Grantham]], {{convert|19|mi}} from [[Sleaford]], {{convert|9|mi}} from [[Southwell, Nottinghamshire|Southwell]] and {{convert|11|mi}} from [[Bingham, Nottinghamshire|Bingham]].

Newark lies on the bank of the River Trent, with the [[River Devon, Nottinghamshire|River Devon]] running as a tributary through the town. Standing at the intersection of the Great North Road and the [[Fosse Way]], Newark originally grew around [[Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire|Newark Castle]], now ruined, and a large market place now lined with historic buildings.

Newark forms a single built-up area with the neighbouring parish of [[Balderton]] to the south-east. To the south, on the [[A46 road]], is [[Farndon, Nottinghamshire|Farndon]], and to the north [[Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire|Winthorpe]].

Newark's growth and development have been enhanced by one of few bridges over the River Trent, by the navigability of the river, by the presence of the Great North Road (the A1, etc.), and later by the advance of the railways, bringing a junction between the [[East Coast Main Line]] and the Nottingham to Lincoln route. "Newark became a substantial inland port, particularly for the wool trade,"<ref>Andrew Nicholson, [http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/places/newark.htm ''Newark-on-Trent''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030075724/http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/places/newark.htm |date=30 October 2009}} at Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway.</ref> though it industrialised somewhat in the Victorian era and later had an ironworks, engineering, brewing and a sugar refinery.

The A1 bypass was opened in 1964 by the then Minister of Transport, [[Ernest Marples]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.winthorpe.org.uk/the-a1-by-pass1|title=The A1 By-Pass |website=Winthorpe Village, Nottinghamshire |access-date=5 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043328/https://www.winthorpe.org.uk/the-a1-by-pass1 |archive-date=28 October 2017}}</ref> The single-carriageway, £34 million A46 opened in October 1990.

Following years of planning, preparatory work was started in 2023 to create an extension and bypass-link from the A46 at Farndon, via Middlebeck to the A1 near [[Fernwood, Nottinghamshire|Fernwood]].<ref>[https://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/final-hurdle-for-link-road-project-9278239/ Final hurdle for Newark southern link road project, Newark and Sherwood District Council hears] ''[[Newark Advertiser]]'', 10 October 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023</ref><ref>[https://www.middlebecknewark.com/southern-link-road/ Southern Link Road] middlebecknewark.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023</ref>