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

Dixton Dixton () 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 Hadnock, Dixton Hadnock, on either side of the r ...

, north-east of the town on

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The stable block is listed as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI), noted for as a breeding site for

lesser horseshoe bat The lesser horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus hipposideros'') is a type of small European and North African insectivorous bat, related to its larger cousin, the greater horseshoe bat. As with all horseshoe bats, the species gets its name from its dist ...

History

Early land use

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

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

s, was in the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, with pottery finds and indications of iron

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

Domesday 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

mentions that a mill might have been present in the area. Industry continued through to the

post-medieval Post-medieval archaeology is a term used in Europe to describe the study of the material past over the last 500 years. The field is also referred to as historical archaeology, a term originating in North America, and common in countries impacted ...

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, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

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 civil parish and village in Gloucestershire, England, to the south of Stonehouse and southwest of the town of Stroud. Geography The village is part of what is known locally as 'The Stanleys', along with its western neigh ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

stone dressings and a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

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 wall A wing wall (also "wingwall" or "wing-wall") is a smaller wall attached or next to a larger wall or structure. Bridges In a bridge, the wing walls are adjacent to the abutments and act as retaining walls. They are generally constructed of the same ...

s 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

.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 a ...

and neighbouring

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), 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 sunli ...

. 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 Insectivore, 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 i ...

(''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') and one of only three known sites in Wales. Between 50 and 100 adult and

flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...

young have been recorded on the site, using the stable roof space for nesting. The stable block is also used by a few

s (''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 ap ...

. 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