Newport House, Shrewsbury

Newport House
Newport House
Location	Dogpole, Shrewsbury
Coordinates	52.7076°N 2.7510°W / 52.7076; -2.7510
Built	1696
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated	17 November 1995
Reference no.	1270999
Shown in Shropshire

Newport House, formerly the Guildhall, is a former municipal building in Dogpole, Shrewsbury, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1] The boundary wall is separately listed.[2]

History

The site on which the current building stands had previously been occupied by a 16th-century mansion known as Castle Gates House, which was dismantled and moved to a new location near Shrewsbury Castle.[1][3] The current building, which was designed for Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford, was completed in 1696.[1] A porch with the Doric columns was added in the 19th century.[1] Newport's grandson, Henry Newport, the 3rd Earl, leased it to Anne Smyth who became the mistress of William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath.[4]

The house was then passed down through the Pulteney family until it was inherited by William Pulteney who lived in it for a few years in the early 19th century, when he was serving as the local member of parliament.[4] In 1810 Earl of Darlington successfully laid claim to the Pulteney Estate after the Countess of Bath died intestate in 1808.[5] Newport House was then bought by William Hazledine, a Coleham ironmaster in 1821 and subsequently acquired by a Mr John Hughes in the 1840s.[4] In the late 19th century it served as the home of Edward Burd, a surgeon at the Salop Infirmary.[4][6]

In 1917 Newport House was acquired by the municipal borough of Shrewsbury, which had previously used part of the Shire Hall in the Market Square as its meeting place.[7] The building continued to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council was formed in 1974[8] until the council decided to move to modern facilities at Frankwell Quay in Frankwell in 2004.[9] The opportunity was taken at the time to carry out an archaeological survey which identified a sherd dating back to the late Saxon era.[10] Newport House was subsequently converted back for residential use as a family home.[11]

See also

• Listed buildings in Shrewsbury (southeast central area)

References

1. Historic England. "The Guildhall, Shrewsbury (1270999)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
2. Historic England. "Boundary wall to the Guildhall (1270834)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
3. "The Next History Lesson From Martin The Town Crier". Love Shrewsbury. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
4. "Newport House (the Old Guildhall), Dogpole, Shrewsbury". Shropshire History. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
5. Baggs, A P; Bolton, Diane K; Hicks, M A; Pugh, R B (1980). "'Hornsey, including Highgate: Other estates', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6, Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey With Highgate". London: British History Online. pp. 146–149. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
6. "List of Members". Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. 1907. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
7. Pidgeon, Henry (1837). Memorials of Shrewsbury: being a concise description of the town and its environs. p. 116. Old Shire Hall Shrewsbury Robert Smirke 1837.
8. The Macmillan Guide to the United Kingdom 1978-79. Palgrave Macmillan. 1978. ISBN 978-1349815111.
9. "Shrewsbury Guildhall transformed into seat of learning for university". Shropshire Star. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
10. Kenney, J.; Wainwright, J. (2004). "The Guildhall, Dogpole, Shrewsbury. A Report on an Archaeological Evaluation". Marches Archaeology. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
11. "Newport House, Shrewsbury". Morris & Co. Retrieved 14 July 2020.