The site on which the current building stands had previously been occupied by a 16th-century mansion known as Castle Gates House, which was dismantled and moved to a new location near Shrewsbury Castle.[1][3] The current building, which was designed for Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford, was completed in 1696.[1] A porch with the Doric columns was added in the 19th century.[1] Newport's grandson, Henry Newport, the 3rd Earl, leased it to Anne Smyth who became the mistress of William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath.[4]
The house was then passed down through the Pulteney family until it was inherited by William Pulteney who lived in it for a few years in the early 19th century, when he was serving as the local member of parliament.[4] In 1810 Earl of Darlington successfully laid claim to the Pulteney Estate after the Countess of Bath died intestate in 1808.[5] Newport House was then bought by William Hazledine, a Coleham ironmaster in 1821 and subsequently acquired by a Mr John Hughes in the 1840s.[4] In the late 19th century it served as the home of Edward Burd, a surgeon at the Salop Infirmary.[4][6]
In 1917 Newport House was acquired by the municipal borough of Shrewsbury, which had previously used part of the Shire Hall in the Market Square as its meeting place.[7] The building continued to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council was formed in 1974[8] until the council decided to move to modern facilities at Frankwell Quay in Frankwell in 2004.[9] The opportunity was taken at the time to carry out an archaeological survey which identified a sherd dating back to the late Saxon era.[10] Newport House was subsequently converted back for residential use as a family home.[11]
