Norton House by Wendy Cope

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NORTON HOUSE

This elegant house was built in 1790 to a high standard. The outer walls were finished in Bath stone, the beautiful staircase was made of walnut, the ceilings were decorated by Italian craftsmen, a secret place was hidden behind one of the corner cupboards in the library and under the courtyard is an iron stair leading to an underground room and passage which, it was rumoured, led to Oystermouth castle. In the days of window tax it was taxed on 20 windows and it was one of the most highly rated houses in the parish.

There had been an earlier house and farm and the little that is left from those times can be seen in part of the range of buildings which stand at right angles to the road. In the 18^th century this property belonged to the Robins family.

In the 1830s Norton House belonged to John Jenkins, a solicitor. He died in 1838 and the house passed to his widow Susan who owned it until shortly before her death in 1888 at her Swansea home, 40 Cambrian Place. She always rented Norton House to people of influence and importance.

Susan’s first tenants were George Gape and his family who moved there from West Cross House. On the night of the 1841 census, George, his wife and four children were at home along with the children’s governess and three servants. Also in the house was Lady Frances Morgan, aged 82, who was Mrs Gape’s mother. The family stayed here until 1845. The tax book for that year tells us more about them. They owned a four wheeled carriage and two horses, they employed a male servant and they kept two dogs, all of which were taxed. They were also charged £2 8s. for the privilege of using their armorial bearings.

John Gwyn Jeffreys, his wife and four children, were the next tenants. His father was a cousin of Captain Richard Jeffrey who rented Norton Lodge in the early 1830s. They were an old Breconshire family and well connected. One of their ancestors was a sister of Gabriel Powell, the Duke of Beaufort’s powerful agent in Swansea. They, like the former tenants had several living-in servants, a cook, nurse, nursemaid, general maid and stable boy in1851. John was a solicitor and he held a number of influential positions in Swansea and Gower, including County Clerk, Bailiff of the Liberty of Gower, Deputy Steward to the Duke of Beaufort and Under Sheriff. He too was friendly with Lewis Weston Dillwyn who called on him soon after he moved in and the two were soon involved in the affairs of the Royal Institution with Jeffreys providing lunch at his house on one occasion for all the officers after a tour of the castle with George Grant Francis. About this time John Dillwyn Llewelyn, the son of Lewis Weston Dillwyn, took his camera to Norton House and took two magnificent photographs. The Jeffreys left Norton in 1854 when he was called to the Bar and he moved to Ware, Hertfordshire. At that time it was exceedingly difficult to move furniture any distance so his expensive belongings were auctioned.

The next tenants were Mr and Mrs Sydney Hall. He was a Chartered Engineer and manager of Warlich’s Patent Fuel Works. Another tax book, this time for 1857, suggests that they were as comfortably off as the Gape family. They had a four wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse and two riding horses, two male servants and four dogs. They also possessed a coat of arms. While living at Norton Sydney was elected as a Trustee of the Swansea Harbour Board and a member of the Town Council. He was also a member of the Board of Health. In late 1859 or early 1860 the Hall family moved back into Swansea and were later living at 5 Richmond Villas, Fynone.

In 1860 Norton House was to let and it was taken by Montague Wilmot and his family. He was the son of Sir Robert Wilmot, of Derbyshire. They had previously lived in London and Geneva, where at least two of their children were born, but had been in Swansea at least since 1848 with his son Robert being educated at Mr. Colston’s York Street Acadamy. I have found no evidence of his employment but both husband and wife were very active in the social life of the area. He was patron of the Music Hall Building in 1864, and of the Agricultural Show, the Mumbles Regatta, the hospital building fund and hospital ball over many years. He was President of the Chess Club, Honorary member of the Workingmens’ Club, a member of the Bristol Channel Yacht Club and a supporter of the Liberal party. He also became involved with the campaign to improve sanitary conditions in Mumbles. Mrs Wilmot was also busy socially often being one of the organisers of large charity bazaars. The family erected an early lawn tennis court in their garden, surrounding the playing area with low walls. William Button Maslen, carpenter, of Arcadian Cottage, Norton Burrows made tennis racquets for them.

A photograph shows George John Cayley, who had married Montague’s daughter Mary Anne Francis in 1860, playing with Professor Max Muller, Miss Wilmot and Hugh Cayley.

In 1958 Norton house became The West Cross Country Club which passed through several owners and was run in its later years by Reg Bateman. It was a venue for young people to enjoy an evening out with a local band or disco and it included a gymnasium and a sauna. By 1971 the club was less profitable. They applied for a gaming licence hoping to boost the takings but in the end it closed. Reg Bateman was not allowed to pull the house down and could not find a buyer until Claude and Emma Rossi, who had been running the Old Mill Restaurant, bought it, completely renovated it and turned it into a successful hotel which they ran for 16 years before embarking on another renovation scheme. In 1976 Wynford Vaughan Thomas, the broadcaster, presented them with a British Tourist Authority’s country restaurant commendation plaque. Mr and Mrs Power bought the Hotel in 1989 and it continued to thrive.

In the early years of the 21^st century the hotel was sold by the Powers. The new owners have plans to extend.

Norton Hotel Award

Mr Wynford Vaughan Thomas, the broadcaster and TV personality, presented a plaque on behalf of the British Tourist Authority to Emma and Claude Rossi, proprietors of the Norton House Restaurant. They have won the authority’s Country Restaurant Commendation.

Mumbles News January 1976.

Acknowledgments

Map: Oystermouth 1921, copyright OS
Norton House, 1856. Photo: John Dillwyn Llewelyn: copyright .
Norton House, photo: What's On, 2012
Photos: Norton House Hotel & Restaurant, 2021
Norton House Hotel, Norton Road, Mumbles Swansea, SA3 5TQ