Former Dairy, Newton Park

Summary

Former stables and dairy building originally constructed in the 17th century, converted in the 20th century for use as part of a teacher training college and then for Bath Spa University.

Reasons for Designation

The former dairy building at Newton Park is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a high quality, purpose-built C17 stable block which retains substantial fabric from that first phase of construction, with materials and detailing signalling its status;
* adapted in the subsequent centuries to serve other ancillary functions within the historic estate, and retaining evidence in the fabric and plan form of this historic development.

Historic interest:

* as an important ancillary building associated with Newton Park and reflecting the status and importance of the estate before its aggrandisement by Joseph Langton;
* for its retention in the C18 redevelopment of the house and parkland at Newton Park as a dairy and laundry building.

Group value:

* for its close visual relationship with the highly graded listed walled gardens, stables and gatehouse, and as one of the key historic buildings at the heart of the estate.

History

Newton Park developed from a medieval manor recorded in the Domesday Book. It was originally held by the St Loe family from the C12 – C14 as a castle and then developed into a fortified manor house before passing through several noble families and being bought by Joseph Langton (1637-1719) in 1666. The Langton family were prominent and wealthy Bristol Merchant Venturers, and Newton Court, as it was initially known, provided them with a country seat. Langton immediately enclosed and began to improve the estate and create a formal landscape, which then became known as Newton Park. In the 1760s his grandson, also Joseph (d1779), commissioned Stiff Leadbetter to build a Palladian mansion and employed Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to transform the grounds (a Grade II* registered landscape). The estate matured through the C19 under the Gore-Langton family before being sold to the Duchy of Cornwall in 1941. From 1945 the house and core of the landscape became home to a teacher training college and in 2005 became Bath Spa University.

The creation of the teacher training college involved substantial development of the grounds and existing buildings.

The building now known as the dairy is located to the west of the main house close to the location of the remains of St Loes Castle and the earlier C14 fortified manor house. The building likely dates to the mid to late-C17 based on archaeological evidence and on stylistic grounds. The 1840 Tithe map for Newton St Loe identifies key buildings in this part of the estate and describes the dairy as the ‘old stables etc’ suggesting that it was originally constructed for this function. During the latter half of the C19 the building was probably in ancillary farm use with only minor external changes, including the introduction of a walled enclosure with a small lean-to range to the south, shown on the 1903 OS map.

In 1946, following the leasing of Newton Park to the City of Bath as a college for training women teachers, the dairy was converted for use as a laboratory by Alfred J Taylor and Partners. A small connecting extension between the main range and lean-to buildings to the south was added and the building was reconfigured internally, now being two independently subdivided spaces. Further internal alterations were designed in-house by Bath College of Higher Education in 1969 when the central portion of the building was used as a farm bailiff’s house. This use continued until the 1990s when the building was again converted into its current layout and is currently (2026) used for the university IT services.

Details

Former stables and dairy block originally constructed in the C17, now converted for university use.

The late-C20 brick walls, boiler house and substation at the south-east corner of the building are excluded from the listing.

MATERIALS: main range is of limestone rubble with ashlar stone dressings, slate roof and ashlar stacks. Extensions to the south are of rubble stone and brick.

PLAN: a single-depth rectangular plan running east-west with small cross-wing to the south.

EXTERIOR: the main range is of nine bays over two storeys with pitched roof and four ridge stacks. The north and south elevations have large quoins and a stone plinth and regularly spaced chamfered stone mullion windows with hood moulds under relieving arches, those at ground floor are three-light and those at first are two-light and located close to the eaves. The cross-wing is similar with five chamfered stone mullion windows with hood moulds across its gable end and a blocked doorway to the east. The northern elevation has two four-centred chamfered arched doorways with timber plank doors in bays three and seven, each with graffiti from the C18. The east and west gables are plain. To the south, surrounding the cross-wing, is a rubble stone wall and lean-to extension to the south, forming a small, enclosed yard. Attached to the south-east corner are yellow brick additions forming walls and ramps housing a boiler house and electricity substation, excluded from the listing.

INTERIOR: the interior plan form is likely to have originated as two ranges, each with a large functional space and smaller heated spaces to either end. Each has since been subdivided into large office spaces and smaller ancillary storage and kitchen facilities around two central staircases aligned with the double doorway entrances to the north. Both ranges have large, chamfered transverse beams at regular intervals with step stops. The first floor has regularly spaced squared beams supported by metal straps. The internal stone window frames have a variety of graffiti, some dating to the C18. Several rooms have mid-C20 stone fire surrounds articulated with projecting quoin-like blocks. The western range has additional ancillary rooms in the cross-wing and an external door to the west.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

32588

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
History of Bath Research Group Article, ' The Sale of Earl Temple's Newton Park Estate, 1941', Kate James. Vol. 14 p.121-129 Vol 14 - 10 - James - The Sale of Earl Temple's Newton Park Estate, 1941.pdf
Newton Park Conservation Managment Plan, September 2010, Nicholas Pearson Associates
Newton Park Contextual Study by Jane Root, September 2000

End of official list entry

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