Newton Court, including attached stable buildings and screen wall to stable court

Cadw's description

Location

About 1500m to the north-east of the town accessed off the main road to Ross.

History

Built for George Griffin c1798-1802 and may well be a design by Anthony Keck (died 1797), architect of Gloucestershire, built posthumously since the building has design similarities with his known work. It has been very little altered since, apart from the introduction of casement windows on the main elevation.

Exterior

Built of coursed, squared, semi-ashlar red sandstone with Forest of Dean stone dressings, Welsh slate roofs which are only partially visible from the ground. Large rectangular block facing west with service court and stables on the north side and with a screen wall projecting north from the north-west corner of the main house. Neo-Classical style. Three storeys, three bay entrance (west) front. Central entrance with Tuscan porch flanked by full height semi-circular bows each with three windows. These have C20 3-light mullion-and-transom windows with voussoir heads, 2-light windows in plain central bay. Bands between floors, rusticated quoins. Deep cornice, parapet, hipped roof running back from each bay. The right return elevation (south) has similar treatment but with a central semi-circular bay flanked by plain windows to the right and with blind recesses to the left. The windows are 6 over 6 sashes with smaller 3 over 6 ones on the top floor. Left hand return (north) looks onto the service yard and has few windows, very tall arch headed window to the stair compartment. This elevation is in coursed sandstone rubble and has two massive wall stacks. Two storey kitchen wing with tripartite sash windows and hipped roof. Joined to this is the two storey stable wing with an arched recess with tripartite sash on the ground floor and large 6 over 6 pane sash above. The screen wall attached to the north-west corner of the house is three bays long with arched fruit tree recesses and square headed recesses in the pilaster buttresses between. Cornice and parapet. This wall is about 20m long and 7m in height.
Other details and the rear elevation were not available at resurvey.

Interior

Interior not available at resurvey. Newman reports a groin-vaulted corridor leading to the main rooms and staircase. This last has alternate panels of wrought iron and timber balustrading, an unusual feature. Understated neo-classical decoration in the main rooms.

Reason for designation

Included and highly graded for its special interest as a stylish late C18 country house possibly designed by Anthony Keck.