Norton Court, Norton Brook,

Skenfrith Skenfrith ( cy, Ynysgynwraidd) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is located on the River Monnow, close to the border between Wales and England, about north-west of Monmouth. The road through the village (B4521) was once ...

, Monmouthshire is a country house dating from c.1600. Its origins are older, beginning with its ownership by the monks of

Grace Dieu Abbey The Grace Dieu Abbey was an Augustinian abbey in County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded about 1190 by John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, to house an order of nuns, the Sisters of St. Augustine. It derived most of its income from lands at Lu ...

, but the present building was constructed by the Walters of Grosmont at the beginning of the 17th century. It was extended and reconstructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The court 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 ...

History

The earliest recorded building on the site was a farmhouse, supporting the abbey at Grace Dieu. Following the Dissolution the house was granted to Sir Thomas Herbert of

Wonastow Court Wonastow Court, in Wonastow, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a 19th-century country house with earlier origins and later additions. The court is a Grade II listed building, and its gardens are listed, also at Grade II, on the History The origins of t ...

. At this time, the court was constructed of timber but, c.1600, it was rebuilt and extended in stone by the Walter family of Grosmont. Further rebuilding took place in the 18th and 19th centuries and recent renovations have uncovered many earlier historical features.

Architecture and description

The architectural historian John Newman describes the court as "a handsome early 18th century farmhouse", reflecting its later extensions. The house is constructed of

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

rubble and is of two storeys with a hipped roof. The south-east side supports "a massive side-wall chimney of stone". The house is a

, its listing recording it as "a substantial Monmouthshire vernacular house".

Notes

References

* {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , author-link=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&dq=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , location=London , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Country houses in Monmouthshire