Newick Park

Newick Park is a large house with a core dating from around 1560, built for an iron master. Dates of 1563 or 1568 appear on one of the cellar walls, and 1584 on the foundations. The house was extensively rebuilt in the early 18th century, with two semi-circular bays added to the east front between 1765 and 1783.

The east front, which serves as the main entrance, is two to three storeys high, faced in Roman cement with a slate roof and two brick chimneystacks. The central section has five sash windows, four of them paired, and features a projecting rusticated porch with a radiating fanlight and a six-panelled door. To the left is a three-storey late 18th or early 19th-century curved bay with three sashes retaining their glazing bars and a band between the first and second floors. To the right is a two-storey curved bay with three sashes, the ground floor ones full height—this section was originally a ballroom. At the far right is a single-storey addition with four 18-pane sashes.

The south or garden front is three storeys high with five windows. The two lower floors are rusticated. The second floor has five 10-pane sashes, while the other floors have 12-pane sashes. The ground floor includes a bay window. There is a keystone to the central second-floor window and a giant pilaster to the left-hand side. Attached to the right-hand side is a 1920s summer house of one storey, cement-faced with a flat roof supported on four Doric columns.

The west front has mainly sash windows, though the second floor retains a late 16th-century three-light mullioned window on the right-hand side. The left-hand side features a three-storey canted bay, and the ground floor has a five-light canted bay with round-headed arches and keystones. Attached to the north is an 18th-century two-storey brick service wing with a tiled roof, three brick chimneystacks, and 20th-century casements.

The interior is notable for its collection of fireplaces. The entrance hall contains a large late 17th-century stone fireplace with an eared architrave and a frieze decorated with birds with fishtails. An adjoining room has a later 18th-century Bossi fireplace of inlaid marble with painted cherubs, urns, and antique scenes. The study has early 20th-century panelling and a four-centred arched stone fireplace. The library features a very large circa 1720 stone fireplace with bolection moulding and large brackets, along with library shelves and panelling from 1920. The dining room, formerly a ballroom, has a late 18th-century marble fireplace with an urn, sunflower, and braziers design and a cast iron firegrate; its cornice displays a leaf and tendril design. The staircase hall has a cantilevered staircase with cast iron balustrading and a mahogany handrail, probably dating from the early 20th century.

On the first floor, part of the late 16th-century frame is visible, including a ceiling beam with a two-inch chamber, filler, and run-out stop. One bedroom contains a priesthole or cupboard with butterfly hinges and a fan-centred arched stone fireplace. The green sitting room on this floor has a marble fireplace with bolection moulding, while the green room has an early Victorian fireplace with a reeded surround and a central relief panel depicting a basket of fruit. The Longford Room has a late 18th-century Bossi marble fireplace with marble inlay pilasters and paterae. The cellar has slate shelves for wine storage. The service wing has a staggered purlin roof.

Historically, at the end of the 17th century the house was owned by Francis Millington and was inherited by Baron Marsell of Margham. In 1750 it was inherited by Louisa Marsell, then it passed through the hands of the Fortescues. Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of Bengal and an associate of Warren Hastings, lived here from 1794 to 1809. In 1812 it was owned by James Powell, whose grandson was Thomas Baden Powell.