Newton and its Owners, 1582-1725
[1] In 1851 the editor of Archaeologia Cambrensis wrote, ‘Sir David Gam's mansion exists close to the town of Brecon, in the same state of neglect as all the other historical monuments of that town and county.' This disparaging tone was echoed by ‘An Antiquary' writing in the same journal in 1862, ‘Newton Hall, Sir David Gam's old house remains in status quo; neither better nor worse. I wish I could say better, for such a stately old place deserves to be thoroughly restored, and made again into the residence of an important family. It should be surrounded by a park instead of a farm, and it might be again turned into one of the most important residences in the county.' It was not always so. In 1698 Hugh Thomas made this comment on the Games house, ‘It is one of the fairest [houses] in the County; it stands upon the fall of the River Tarrell into Uske and surrounded like a castle with inward and outward Courts both enclosed with strong embattled walls and for rich furniture within is not inferior to any in Wales.'
The appearance of the house today is both impressive and puzzling. Surrounded by a nine-hole Golf Course, it stands tall and powerful with an unusual pyramidal roof culminating in a large chimney stack. On closer examination the building shows much evidence of repair and alteration, particularly to the fenestration. There is no sign of the courts and embattled walls described by Hugh Thomas. The pervading impression is a massive pile reduced in status from the time it was built.
Any attempt to establish the age of Newton must start with the inscription over the fireplace in the hall which includes the date 1582.
[2] The Games family, which was the most powerful in the neighbourhood in the late 16th and early 17th centuries had its seat at Newton, and since its members who became High Sheriffs are always styled ‘of Newton' it is unlikely that they had a second important house in Brecon itself. Newton was always the principal house of the Games family and is fortunate in possessing enough of its old structure and appearance to make it very evocative of the power and prestige of a family that has for centuries been no more than a name. The period at which the Games family was at its height was in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The Games family had occupied buildings of a sort at Newton from some time in the late 15th Century, but it was not until 1582 that Sir JohnGames caused a house to be built that is substantially the house that we see to-day.
The appearance of the house today is both impressive and puzzling. Surrounded by a nine-hole Golf Course, it stands tall and powerful with an unusual pyramidal roof culminating in a large chimney stack. On closer examination the building shows much evidence of repair and alteration, particularly to the fenestration. There is no sign of the courts and embattled walls described by Hugh Thomas. The pervading impression is a massive pile reduced in status from the time it was built.
Any attempt to establish the age of Newton must start with the inscription over the fireplace in the hall which includes the date 1582.
[2] The Games family, which was the most powerful in the neighbourhood in the late 16th and early 17th centuries had its seat at Newton, and since its members who became High Sheriffs are always styled ‘of Newton' it is unlikely that they had a second important house in Brecon itself. Newton was always the principal house of the Games family and is fortunate in possessing enough of its old structure and appearance to make it very evocative of the power and prestige of a family that has for centuries been no more than a name. The period at which the Games family was at its height was in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The Games family had occupied buildings of a sort at Newton from some time in the late 15th Century, but it was not until 1582 that Sir JohnGames caused a house to be built that is substantially the house that we see to-day.