Newton Court is a neoclassical house, completed in 1802, situated on the hillside above

Dixton Dixton ( cy, Llandydiwg) is a small village located north east of Monmouth, on the banks of the River Wye, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. The parish originally comprised the two manors of Dixton Newton and Dixton Hadnock, on either side of ...

, north-east of the town on Monmouth, in Monmouthshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. The stable block is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for as a breeding site for lesser horseshoe bats.

History

Early land use

The first major activity on the land, other than evidence of a few prehistoric

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

s, was in the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, with pottery finds and indications of iron

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...

. The

Doomsday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

mentions that a mill might have been present in the area. Industry continued through to the post-medieval period, with

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

waste being found. A 14th-century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

was present in the area, possibly on the site of the present-day Newton Court.

Construction

The land for Newton Court, on a south-east facing hillside, was purchased by Admiral Thomas Griffin in the 18th century at the same time as the land at Hadnock and was left to his third son, George Griffin, after his death. Under George, Newton Court was constructed between 1799 and 1802, possibly to the designs of architect

Anthony Keck Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales. Life Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726 He designed in the "austere ...

King's Stanley King's Stanley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, situated southwest of the town of Stroud. The village is part of what is known locally as 'The Stanleys', along with its neighbours Leonard Stanley and Stanley Downton. Marling Close, whic ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, who died prior to its commencement. The three-storey house was built in the neoclassical style, using coursed red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

with

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

stone dressings and a slate roof.

Usage to present day

The house remained in the Griffin family at least until 1901, when according to Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire it was "the seat of George Griffin Griffin esq., M.A., D.L., J.P." The house, stables, and screen wall were listed as

s in 2005, whilst the gate piers, gates, and wing walls were Grade II listed in the same year. Newton Court Farm is situated at the end of Newton Court Lane and in between this and the house is the older 17th-century Newton Hall, which is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

.Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet OL14 ''Wye Valley & Forest of Dean''

Stable Block

Newton Court Stable Block is noted as a small SSSI, totalling in area; it comprises the stable block, which is also a Grade II* listed building, the

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

and neighbouring

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

. It is of importance because it is the only breeding colony in Monmouthshire for the nationally rare and endangered

greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

(''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') and one of only three known sites in Wales. Between 50 and 100 adult and flying young have been recorded on the site, using the stable roof space for nesting. The stable block is also used by a few lesser horseshoe bats (''Rhinolophus hipposideros''). The SSSI forms part of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat Sites

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

. The stable block building has previously undergone a number of temporary maintenance improvements, but is in a state of disrepair.

References

{{Buildings in Monmouth Country houses in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed houses 1802 establishments in the United Kingdom Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Monmouthshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1998 Special Areas of Conservation in Wales Neoclassical architecture in Wales