New House Hotel

New House Hotel
Type	House (now a hotel)
Location	Thornhill, Cardiff, Glamorgan
Coordinates	51°32′59″N3°12′46″W / 51.5498°N 3.2128°W / 51.5498; -3.2128
Built	c.1795
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical
Owner	Privately owned
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	New House Hotel
Designated	10 June 1977
Reference no.	13937
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	The Long Barn and attached courtyard wall, gates and railings
Designated	11 June 1977
Reference no.	15758
Location of New House Hotel in Cardiff

New House Hotel is a former country house, now a hotel, in Thornhill, Cardiff, Wales. Dating from around 1795, it was built for Thomas Lewis, a descendant of Thomas Lewis (died 1764), a founder of the Dowlais Ironworks and prominent local landowner through his own descent from the Lewises of Van. The original Thomas Lewis built a mansion near the site which was destroyed by fire in the mid-18th century and the present building was its replacement. New House Hotel is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The Lewises of Van descended from Sir Edward Lewis (1508–1561). Establishing himself at The Van, south of Caerphilly, Sir Edward built up a large landholding in Glamorgan, serving as Sheriff in 1548, 1555, and 1559. ^[1] A descendant, Thomas Lewis (1699–1764) was the original founder of the Dowlais Ironworks ^[2] which he began as the Methir Furnace, and later converted to the Dowlais Works in partnership with seven others in 1759. ^[3] Lewis built himself a mansion near the Thornhill site overlooking Cardiff but this was destroyed by fire after his death and the present replacement was constructed by his descendant, another Thomas, in around 1795. ^[4]

New House was converted to a hotel in the 20th century. ^[5]

Architecture and description

The building is of two storeys and seven bays, ^[6] with attics, under a Welsh slate roof. ^[4] The architectural historian John Newman, in his Glamorgan volume of the Buildings of Wales, describes the façade as "strangely gauche". ^[7] The house is listed at Grade II*. ^[4] The Long Barn (formerly the stables) is also listed at II. ^[8] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales also holds details of the house's garden wall, ^[9] the gate piers and railings, ^[10] and the stables on its Coflein database. ^[11]

References

1. "Lewis family of Van, Glamorgan". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . Retrieved 9 April 2025.
2. "Thomas Lewis". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
3. "Dowlais Ironworks". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
4. Cadw. "New House Hotel (Grade II*) (13937)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
5. "New House Country Hotel". Town & Country Collective. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
6. "Newhouse Mansion, Thornhill (398)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 9 April 2025.
7. Newman 1995, p. 295.
8. Cadw. "The Long Barn and attached courtyard wall, gates and railings (Grade II) (15758)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
9. "New House, North Garden Wall, Thornhill (19450)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 9 April 2025.
10. "New House, Gate Piers & Railings, Thornhill (19449)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 9 April 2025.
11. "Newhouse Stables, Thornhill (37619)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 9 April 2025.

Sources

• Newman, John (1995). Glamorgan. The Buildings of Wales. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN   978-0-140-71056-4.

External links

• "New House Country Hotel".