In 1839, businessman John Frost led several thousand men on a march to Newport as part of a campaign for the People's Charter for electoral reform. In the ensuing confrontation between the Chartists and troops, more than twenty men were shot dead.

On a wall of a multi-storey carpark in the north entrance to John Frost Square was a mosaic mural depicting scenes from the uprising. It was created by Kenneth Budd and completed in 1978, containing 200,000 separate pieces of tile. (Source: Newport City Council)
The mural was destroyed by Newport City Council on 03 October 2013.