Newnham Grange, Darwin College

Newnham Grange is a former townhouse built in 1793 and remodelled in 1885, now serving as a college building. It is constructed of gault brick laid in Flemish bond, with a plain tile roof and stone detailing.

The building is roughly rectangular on plan with a five-bay, two-and-a-half storey form. The symmetrical front elevation facing north onto Silver Street features the central bay slightly recessed, with flat-roofed canted projections to the outer two bays at ground floor level, added in the early twentieth century. The roof was formerly triple-pitched but was altered around 1976 to accommodate an attic with five dormers on its north and south slopes, containing casement windows. Four gault brick chimneystacks survive, two on each of the east and west gable ends.

The front elevation has stone platbands over the ground and first floors. Windows have flat-arched gauged brick lintels and stone sills. The first-floor windows contain six-over-six sashes, while the ground floor canted bays have nine-over-six sashes to their outer bays and a high-level grille to the centre bay. The central doorway has a recessed round-arched gauged brick surround with a stone band at impost level. It contains a late eighteenth-century round-arched ornamental fanlight and six-panelled door, approached by five stone steps with plain pointed railings with urn finials on a low stone plinth either side.

The rear (south) elevation has three late eighteenth-century first-floor windows, each with a segmental gauged brick arch. The outer bays have tripartite windows containing a six-over-six sash window flanked by slender vertical sashes, while the central bay has a six-over-six sash window. The ground floor features a late nineteenth-century projection added in 1885. The two western bays have a swept leaded roof over what was previously a cast-iron framed veranda, later infilled around 1885 with a curved oriel window and timber-framed porch. The eastern bay has a flat-roofed angled projection, probably added in the early twentieth century, with two nine-over-six sash windows overlooking the gardens. The former windows on the west gable were blocked or concealed when the Rayne Building was added in 1970.

Interior

The front ground-floor room, formerly comprising an entrance hall, drawing room and dining room, had its internal walls removed in the late twentieth century to create a library and is now a function room. It retains the decorative modillioned cornices of its former three rooms and a carved marble fireplace on the west wall, likely dating from the 1885 remodelling, with carved floral bosses in its corners, containing a tiled surround and cast-iron grate. The fireplace on the east wall has been blocked.

To the rear of the Old Library, the corridor has four round arches to the north, east, south and west with plain classical detailing, and moulded door surrounds to rooms containing six-panel doors. The corridor has a central groin vault, decorative modillioned cornices to the east and west sections, and a stone-flagged floor. A late eighteenth-century cantilevered stone stair on the west wall has a left-hand volute, plain handrail and plain metal stick balusters. Beneath the stair, a glazed door leads west into the Rayne Building, built around 1968-70. The east wall has a classical door surround with a triangular pediment and a six-panel door into the former kitchen wing, remodelled as offices and student accommodation around 1976.

The reading room in the south-west corner retains a decorative cornice, a late eighteenth-century Adams style fireplace on its west wall, panelled window shutters and moulded door surrounds. The Bursar's office in the south-east corner has a carved stone fireplace likely dating from the 1885 remodelling, with carved floral bosses in its corners, containing a tiled surround and cast-iron grate. Either side of the fireplace are late nineteenth-century decorative fitted cupboards and bookshelves.

The first floor formerly had a pair of bedrooms to the north and south of a central corridor, each pair linked by a shared dressing room. These are now offices and seminar rooms, except for a guest bedroom in the south-west corner which has had an ensuite introduced. The first-floor corridor has a round arch from the stair and another round arch to the centre of the north wall, each with plain classical surrounds. The first-floor rooms generally retain moulded door surrounds, six-panelled doors, plain cornices and dados throughout. All six rooms retain Adams style fireplaces except the Seminar Room in the north-west corner, which has a late nineteenth-century plain carved stone fireplace. The three front rooms overlooking Silver Street retain panelled window shutters. Some rooms also retain fitted cupboards to the sides of their fireplaces with moulded surrounds and panelled doors.

The basement retains eight brick-vaulted rooms off a central corridor.