Newton

51 NEWTON (B.c.).

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)XXXVIII, S.W., ^(b)XLIV, N.W., ^(c)XXXVII, S.E.)

Newton is a parish 11 m. W.S.W. of Hereford.

Ecclesiastical

^a(1). Parish Church of St. John the Baptist stands near the eastern boundary of the parish. It was built in 1842, but has the following fittings: Chest: In nave—of oak, with front framed in three panels enriched with lozenge-design, top-rail carved with foliage-ornament, bottom-rail moulded and styles and muntins carved with guilloche-ornament, lid panelled; early 17th-century. Font: round bowl, cut down and re-tooled, late 12th or early 13th-century, base with shallow moulded edge, probably 13th-century. Plate: includes secular bowl of 1682, with lower part enriched with acanthus-leaf repoussé work and with two cast scroll handles at sides. Pulpit: two sides only, each having bolection-moulded panels forming a geometrical design with a boss carved with a grotesque beast-head and foliage in the middle, frieze below enriched with reed-ornament, base with honeysuckle in relief and cornice with dentil-ornament; at the angles and against the S. wall are Ionic columns on panelled bases; early to mid 17th-century, book-board and pedestal modern.

Secular

Monuments (2–14)

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of two storeys or one storey with attics. The walls are rubble and the roofs are covered with stone slates. Most of the buildings have old chimneystacks and exposed ceiling-beams and joists.

Condition—Good, or fairly good, unless noted.

^a(2). Newhouse Farm, house, dairy and stable, and barn, 100 yards S.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with cellars. It is of early 17th-century date and is built on a rectangular plan. Several of the windows retain their old moulded frames and mullions; the windows were originally unglazed and some still have their original internal shutters. Inside the building the ceiling of the southernmost room on the ground floor has a moulded plaster border immediately adjoining the ceiling-beams. The doorway to this room has an old frame with segmental head and a battened door with an old iron scutcheon. On the first floor are some panelled partitions with long stop-chamfered panels. The Dairy, S. of the house, is partly timber-framed; the roof is covered with corrugated iron. It is of early 17th-century date, but the S. wall and part of the N. wall have been re-built in stone at a later date. Late in the 17th century the stable was built at the W. end. In the timber-framed N. wall of the dairy is an old segmental-headed doorway. The Barn, N.W. of the house, is partly timber-framed; the roof is covered with corrugated iron. It is of five bays; the roof-trusses have sloping struts between the tie-beams and principal rafters.

^b(3). Upper Gwyrlodydd, house and barn, 600 yards S.S.E. of the church. The House is of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the S. and W. The S. wing is of early 16th-century date, and the W. wing is of the 17th century, but may incorporate a portion of the earlier house. The S. wall of the S. wing has corbelled out at the first-floor level a rectangular projecting chimney-stack. The entrance doorway (Plate 35) has an old frame cut out of massive baulks of timber and with a pointed segmental head cut in the soffit of the lintel. In the S. wall of the W. wing is a doorway with a chamfered oak frame. In the E. wall are three windows with old frames and diamond-shaped mullions, and in the N. wall is a similar but smaller window. Inside the building several old partitions remain; they are of timber with chamfered framing and long, narrow panels between the posts. The S. room in the S. wing has moulded beams and joists. Against the W. wall of this wing is the foot of an original 'crutch.' The Barn, N.E. of the house, is timber-framed, partly weather-boarded and partly covered with stone flags. It is of four bays with tie-beams and strutted rafters.

Condition—Of house, poor; of barn, bad.

^b(4). Gwyrlodydd, house, 340 yards S. of (3), is of two storeys with attics. Most of the house has been re-built in modern times, but it retains a 17th-century W. wing against which a late 18th-century cider-mill and barn have been built. Some of the windows have old frames. Inside the building are two 17th-century battened and framed doors, each of two panels.

^b(5). Lower Newton Farm (Plate 21), house, 640 yards S. of (4), is partly timber-framed with wattle and daub panels and partly of rubble. The house is of T-shaped plan with an E. cross-wing. The S. end of the cross-wing is of late 15th or early 16th-century date and, with the exception of the S. wall which was of stone, was originally timber-framed. The N. end of the original house was remodelled and the walls were mostly re-built in stone c. 1700, when the existing W. arm was added or re-built. Later in the 18th century the N. end of the cross-wing was added. At the S. end of the E. front is a length of exposed timber-framing with a large double doorway. In the northern half of the front is an old doorway with a chamfered frame. Inside the building, a room in the cross-wing has a fireplace spanned by a stop-chamfered wood lintel. The cross-partitions between the ground-floor rooms are of timber with stop-chamfered framing.

Condition—Of main house, fairly good; of S. end of cross-wing, poor.

^b(6). Cwarelau, house and barn, 720 yards W.N.W. of (5). The House is of L-shaped plan, with the wings extending towards the S. and W. The E. end of the W. wing is of 15th-century origin, and the S. wing dates from later in the 16th century. In the 17th century the W. wing was extended to form what is now a cattle-shed. The entrance doorway in the N. wall has an old stop-chamfered frame, and there are three doorways with stop-chamfered frames in the N. wall of the cattle-shed. Some of the windows have old frames. Inside the building, in the 15th-century wing, are four exposed crutches. On the ground floor, the partitions are all of timber with chamfered framing and long vertical panels between the posts; all the doorways in these partitions have flat segmental-pointed heads. There are some battened doors in the S. wing. The kitchen has moulded beams and joists, and in the back kitchen is a wide, open fireplace with a stone lintel. Another fireplace has chamfered oak jambs and lintel. The Barn, W. of the house, is of two storeys. It was built c. 1600, probably as a dwelling-house. Late in the 17th or early in the 18th century the S. wall was removed and the building was extended southwards. In the N. wall is an original doorway with an old chamfered frame and an original four-light window with diamond-shaped mullions. In the E. wall of the original building are four similar windows. There are similar windows in the W. wall, but some of these have been blocked. In the roof are three old trusses with sloping struts between the tie-beams and principal rafters.

Condition—Of house, fairly good; of barn, poor.

^b(7). Wayne Herbert, house and barn, ½ m. N.W. of (6). The House has been considerably altered and heightened in modern times. Inside the building, on the ground floor, is an original timber partition with chamfered framing and long, vertical panels. The Barn, N. of the house, is of weather-boarded timber-framing on a stone plinth. It is in five bays with sloping struts between the tie-beams and principal rafters.

^b(8). Upper Court Farm, house 600 yards N.W. of the church, has a later extension at the E. end and a low addition at the W. end.

^b(9). Yatt Farm, house, 620 yards W.S.W. of (8), has additions on the W. and N. sides. Inside the building is an original timber partition with chamfered framing and long, vertical panels; in the N. wall is an old battened door in a chamfered frame.

^b(10). Maes-coed Farm, house, ¼ m. W. of (9), was built c. 1600. Late in the 17th century a wing was added on the E. side, and in modern times the building has been extended towards the S. On the E. front is a six-light window with an old frame and diamond-shaped mullions, and on the W. front is a similar five-light window. Inside the building are some old partitions with chamfered framing and long, vertical panels of timber. Some of the doorways have chamfered frames and segmental heads.

^b(11). Green Farm, house and barn, 720 yards N.N.W. of (10). The original House was of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the N.E. and S.E. Late in the 18th century the N.E. wing was extended and in modern times it has been further extended, and an addition built to the S.E. wing. In the N.W. wall is an old doorway with a chamfered frame and segmental head. Inside the building is an old doorway with a stop-chamfered frame. The Barn, N. of the house, is timber-framed and weather-boarded. The original building is in three bays with sloping struts between the tie-beams and principal rafters.

Condition—Of barn, bad.

^b(12). Little Green Farm, house, 160 yards N. of (11), was built c. 1700. In modern times it has been extended towards the E. and had an addition on the N. side.

^a(13). Upper Newton Farm, house and outbuildings, 200 yards S.W. of (10). The House has been largely re-built except the N. wing which has a modern slate roof and is now used as a store and granary; in the N. wall are two old windows, the eastern of four lights with chamfered mullions and the western of three lights with diamond-shaped mullions. Inside the building the two lower rooms have chamfered ceiling-beams and are divided by a timber partition with closelyset chamfered studs and boarded infilling. The Outbuildings have been re-built, but some of the timbers are old material re-used.

^c(14). Castle Farm, house, 600 yards N.W. of (13), has been lengthened to the S. The kitchen and two rooms N. of it have chamfered ceiling-beams; between the rooms are partitions similar to that in (13). The large chimney-stack in the kitchen has a doorway with a heavy oak frame, formerly external, on the E. of it, and a semi-winding stair with stone treads, on the W.