Located just slightly west of the Tay road and rail bridges that cross the river to Dundee, the town initially grew as wealthy jute barons of 19th century Dundee sought quieter, cleaner surroundings in which to live. They commuted across the old Tay railway bridge, which tragically collapsed one stormy December night in 1879.
Newport-on-Tay was a highly desirable suburb of Dundee after the first Tay Rail Bridge was built in 1878 and the public buildings such as the old ferry terminus and the grand Victorian villas on the hillside reflect these times.
