Newton Manor, Gosforth, Seascale, Cumbria: Heritage Assessment

Prior to the proposed demolition of the derelict remains of Newton Manor, Gosforth, Seascale, Cumbria, Greenlane Archaeology was commissioned to carry out a heritage assessment of the site. This was intended to form a permanent archive of the known history of the building as well as provide information for use in future display boards at the site.

The cartographic and other evidence demonstrates that the building was formerly known as Low Ling Bank or Low Lingbank, with buildings shown on the site as early as 1774. The property was initially known as Low Lingbank and was evidently a farmhouse, and the earliest reference to it by its current name is only in 1861, at which time it was the home of Anthony Benn Steward, a local magistrate from Whitehaven, who had acquired the manor of Newton and Seascale in 1841. The property remained in his family for the rest of the 19th century and much of the 20th, although it is not clear how much they lived there during this time, and in 1933 it was evidently available to let. The map evidence shows that the original house was rebuilt or replaced between the 1860s and 1890s leaving the current building. A large two storey extension, primarily comprising a billiard room, was added to the north-east side in 1907, but the building has seen little alteration since.

The full report will be made available on the Archaeology Data Service website.