JM#1
Famous people · Newent, Gloucestershire
6 famous people were born in Newent from 1735 to 1983
Joe Meek, the English record producer, is the most widely known, written about in 22 languages. Behind the leader come Michael Park and John Lightfoot. In the 20th century, 3 were born, the most of any period. The list comes to 11.2 for every 10,000 residents, against 2.5 in the typical town in Gloucestershire.
Born here
6
notable people
Best known
Joe Meek
in 22 Wikipedia languages
First
1735
John Lightfoot
Youngest
1983
Andi Gladwin
Most common field
Music
1 people
The best known
Born in Newent
First, Joe Meek (22 languages), then Michael Park (17) and John Lightfoot (13).
#2
#3Faith
John Lightfoot
1735–1788Priest, conchologist and botanist (1735-1788)
13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Newent’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1920s come out on top, with 1 births.
MusicSportsFaithScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StagePolitics & Law
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Newent is known for
Share of Newent’s famous people in each field.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Newent
Still to come: 3 more, from 1809 to 1983.
Pat Hayes
born 1944Computer science researcher in artificial intelligence
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, Ledbury lists the most people: 13.
Questions about famous people from Newent
Who is the most famous person from Newent?
Joe Meek (English record producer (1929–1967)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 22 languages. Next come Michael Park and John Lightfoot.
How many famous people were born in Newent?
6 people born in Newent have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Newent known for?
Among its famous people, musicians: 1 of the 6. That is 17% of the town’s list, against 5% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Newent?
John Lightfoot, born in 1735. The youngest on the list was born in 1983.
Who counts as from Newent?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Newent’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (6)
- Michael Park: Rally Paradise / Pasi Piesanen, Mauri, Joni, Henri and Markus Lehtiranta, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Lightfoot: John Lightfoot (author), Moses Griffiths (artist), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Masefield: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Cowles Prichard: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John McAfee: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gilbert Barling: Lafayette Ltd., CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.