Newtown, known in Welsh as Y Drenewydd, lies on the River Severn. It was founded in the thirteenth century and flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries around the textile and flannel industry – indeed, it was known as the 'Leeds of Wales'. It received a further boost during that time with the arrival of the Mongomeryshire Canal.

Newtown is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Robert Owen in 1771. Known as Britain’s first Socialist, Robert Owen (1771-1858) was born over a saddler's shop in Broad Street. At the age of ten he began work in the town’s flourishing textiles industry, and became a self-made man, eventually running and owning some of the largest textile factories in Britain. His former house is now a museum.

Robert Owen is recognised for having sowed the seeds of Socialism long before Karl Marx. The epitaph on his gravestone in the churchyard of the abandoned St Mary's Church in newtown sums up his philosophy:
'It is the one great and universal interest of the human race to be cordially united and to aid each other to the full extent of their capacities'.

Newtown's textile industry went into decline after the town witnessed Wales' first Chartist demonstration in 1838. Following this, agriculture became the areas main income generator.

The town was given the status 'new town' in 1967 and as a result has seen a large population growth, changing its rural market town character as companies have established themselves and a new influx of residents has settled.

Today, Newtown is a busy regional town. It boasts an important art gallery in Oriel Davies . Gregynog, a stunning country house built by Lord Davies of Llandinam and now in the ownership of the University of Wales, is nearby. It holds a well regarded festival every summer.