On the evening of 26 April 2026, a devastating fire gutted the former Newell House School in Sherborne. Opened as a private prep school in 1947[1], the school closed its doors 53 years later on 23 August 2000.[2]
Standing on the junction of Cornhill and the A30, Newell House has been one of Sherborne’s landmark buildings for over 300 years. By April 2023 the property, now empty and overgrown, featured as Save Britain’s Heritage’s Property of the Month.[3]
According to Historic England[4], the western section of this Grade II listed house, with its two projecting wings and courtyard, stone mullioned windows, and moulded architrave doorway with rectangular fanlight, dates from the 17th century. A large east wing, added in the early 19th century, features an ashlar parapet and cornice, sash windows, and a round-headed doorway with pediment. In the grounds stands a Grade II listed stone barn of six bays with an impressive collar-beam roof with curved braces believed to date from the early to mid-16th century,[5] providing a clue to the property’s agricultural past.
The property was originally part of the manor of Sherborne Barton, the demesne or home farm of the Benedictine monastery, which by 1599 was held by Queen Elizabeth I who granted the manor to Sir Walter Raleigh of Sherborne Castle. At some point Newell House was acquired by the Toogood family. William Toogood senior (1690-1732) was a yeoman farmer, the prosperous class of farmer who owned their own land, from whom his death his eldest son William Toogood junior (1709-1760) inherited the property. In 1757 William Toogood junior quite literally caused a riot in Sherborne when during a period of high food prices he sold his wheat to a miller at such an inflated price that a group of local people raided the mill and appropriated several bags of flour for themselves.[6] In any anonymous letter William was warned – ‘Sir, If you do not bring your wheat into the market, and sell it at a reasonable price, your barns shall be pulled down.’
In 1739 William Toogood junior married Mary White of Chilton Cantelo and, perhaps not surprisingly, when their son was born in 1744 they named him William! According to Hutchins’ History Dorset, it was this William Toogood (1744-1826) who in about 1810 built the grand eastern extension to Newell House[7] with a pleasure garden adjoining. William, who was educated as a day boy at Sherborne School under headmaster Joseph Hill, was obviously very bright because on 26 January 1760, aged 16, he matriculated at Oriel College Oxford[8]. After university he returned to Sherborne where in 1770 he married his cousin Sarah Toogood and went on to serve as a JP for Dorset and as Chairman of the Dorset Quarter Sessions.[9] He died in his 82nd year and was buried at Sherborne on 20 January 1826. By his will made on the 9th June 1825 he gave permission for his son the Rev. William Toogood (1774-1851) to occupy the house, with the stipulation that he must continue to employ Reuben Walters the younger in reward for his faithful daily service and long attendance during his last illness.
The large eastern extension made to Newell House in c.1810 by William Toogood (1744-1826) together with the pleasure garden are clearly shown on Edward Thomas Percy’s 1834 map and terrier of Sherborne (below):
Newell House was later acquired by the Sherborne Castle Estate and from 1847 onwards was rented by a succession of tenants, many of whom moved to Sherborne in order to educate their sons as Foundationers (day boys) at Sherborne School.
From 1847 to 1878 Newell House was occupied by the Falwasser family. Captain John Frederick Falwasser JP (1807-1878) and his large family moved to Sherborne in 1847 from Curdridge House in Bishop’s Waltham. Seven of the Falwasser boys attended Sherborne School as Foundationers (day boys) and Captain Falwasser became a pillar of the local community, serving as a Governor of Sherborne School, a member of the brethren of Sherborne Almshouse, vice-president of Sherborne’s Literary and Scientific Institute, and as a JP for Dorset. In 1860 he formed the Sherborne Company of the 7th Dorset Volunteer Rifle Corps, of which he was Captain until November 1875 when he was promoted to the staff of the battalion as Major. Living at Newell House was, however, not always rosy, and in May 1854 Captain Falwasser complained to the Local Board of Health about his neighbour William Dodge who ran a tannery business across the road at Newell Grange, a noxious, smelly business involving the treatment of animal skins.[10] Captain Falwasser died on 15 March 1878 following an operation at Harley Street in London and his body was brought back to Sherborne by train. On the day of his burial the coffin and funeral cortege proceeded from Newell House down Acreman Street to Sherborne Cemetery in Lenthay.
The next tenant of Newell House was Captain William Henry Fife (1845-1912) of the 9th Lancers, who on 29 September 1878 leased Newell House from G.D. Wingfield Digby of Sherborne Castle. In 1879 Captain Fife married Janet Boyle (1846-1916), the eldest daughter of Admiral Alexander Boyle, and their first child Alexander John Fife (1880-1917) was born at Newell House on 13 August 1880, followed in 1881 by a daughter Lucy Agnes Fife (1881-1972) and in 1886 by another son Harry Aubone Fife (1886-1933). A keen horseman and a member of the local hunt, the ample stabling and outbuildings at Newell House were no doubt part of its appeal for Captain Fife. However, there were draw backs, and in April 1882 the Governors of Sherborne School complained that effluent from his stables was contaminating the Coombe Stream that supplied the boys’ outdoor swimming bath in Acreman Street (now the site of the Pilkington Laboratories).
In 1884, Captain Fife and J.R.P. Goodden of Compton House set up the Compton Stud at Over Compton with the aim of improving the available stock of hunting horses in the area. The following year they moved the stud to Newell House from where it was run until 1887 when, having outgrown the premises, the stud was moved to Sandley near Gillingham, to where Captain Fife moved as manager. In October 1934 Captain Fife’s widowed daughter Lucy Maxwell, a former Commandant of the VAD Red Cross Hospital at Station Road in Gillingham, returned to Sherborne where she leased Westbridge House (now Hyle Farm). During the Second World War when his brigade HQ moved to Sherborne Castle, the author Evelyn Waugh lodged with Lucy Maxwell at Westbridge House.
From September 1887 Newell House was home to perhaps its most prestigious residents – Prince Wasif Ali Mirza (1875-1959) and Prince Nasir Ali Mirza (1876-1945), sons of His Highness the Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad, Calcutta. The Rev. John Jefferies Bartlett Coles (1848-1935), former principal of Doveton College in Calcutta, had been employed by the Nawab to take the young Princes to England to be educated as English gentlemen. The Rev. Coles was instructed to ‘rent a furnished house in a healthy locality in Sherborne… suited to the position of the pupils’, where he was to provide servants, including a ‘Mahomedan cook’ and an ‘Oriental teacher’. From September 1887 to 1890 the Princes attended Sherborne Prep School as day boys. It was originally intended that they would proceed to Sherborne School but disagreements between the Rev. Coles and the School’s Headmaster E.M. Young resulted in the Princes and the Rev. Coles leaving Sherborne in 1890 and moving to Rugby where they attended Rugby School as day boys. In 1903 Prince Wasif Ali Mirza attended the Delhi Durbar to celebrate the succession of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India.
By 1897 the Crosse family were residents of Newell House and it was here on 12 February 1897 that their daughter Avis Irene Crosse (1897-1987) was born. The previous year Herbert Dudley Hinton Crosse (1863-1908) had married Avis Millicent Blennerhasset Allanson-Winn (1868-1936), daughter of the 4th Baron Headley and granddaughter of the Rev. John Blennerhasset, rector of Ryme Intrinsica.
Herbert Crosse was a keen sportsman, a follower of foxhounds and also a member of the Committee of the Yeatman Hospital.[11] In June 1905 Herbert and his wife took part on horseback in the Sherborne Pageant which was staged at Sherborne Old Castle. Their daughter Avis also took part in the Pageant appearing with a group representing Sherborne (England) and Sherborn (USA).
Sadly, Herbert Crosse died at Newell House on 18 October 1908, aged just 44. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery and by his will bequeathed £100 to the Yeatman Hospital. His widow Avis was married in 1911 to Dr Richard Llewellyn (1871-1934) but remained at Newell House until 1921 when Major F.J.B. Wingfield Digby sold the property for £4,000 to Harry Dyson (1853-1921) and Yvonne Isabella Dyson (née Forster) (1878-1965) of The Wilderness in St Swithin’s Street, Sherborne. The sale advertisement in the Country Life magazine described the property as follows:
‘Contains three reception rooms, billiard room, eleven bed and dressing rooms and bathroom; with magnificent tithe barn, stables, garage, pleasure grounds, tennis lawns, rose garden, two kitchen gardens, vineries, orchard, paddock, and farmery; in all about 3a.1r.37p.’[12]
Tragedy struck the Dyson family soon after they purchased Newell House when, on 25 May 1921, Harry Dyson fell from a ladder at the back of the house while he was attempting to nail up a creeper. Falling onto the rough cobbled stone pavement below he fractured his skull and died that evening from his injuries.[13] His widow Yvonne and their two children remained at Newell House until March 1924 where Yvonne, a keen supporter of the Girl Guides, allowed the Guides to hold rallies in the garden or in the billiard room when the weather was inclement. Yvonne and the children appear to have left the house quite suddenly because on 28 March 1924 the contents of the house and outbuildings were put up for auction at short notice. The auction included ‘a useful American waggon’ and 24 head of pure-bred poultry.[14]
The next occupant of Newell House was a Mrs Russell who, on 15 September 1934, reported having lost a paste diamond monkey brooch somewhere between Coombs’ Restaurant in Cheap Street and Kit Hill,[15] and in November 1934 her daughter, Elizabeth Russell, was injured when she was thrown from her horse while returning from a meet of the Blackmore Vale Hunt.[16]
Due to poor visibility, the A30 at Newell had always been an accident blackspot. In January 1924 the County Council proposed giving a better view to traffic rounding the bend by setting back the garden wall of Newell House and widening the road from 19 feet to 30 feet. Mrs Dyson was however against the suggestion and the Council decided it would be too costly to compel her to agree.[17] The road improvements were finally carried out in 1958 when the garden wall of Newell House was demolished and set back to improve visibility. The curve of William Toogood’s original pleasure garden at Newell House can, however, still be traced by the curve of the current A30 at this point.[18]
During the Second World War Newell House appears to have been commandeered for military purposes. In 1947 the Newell House Preparatory School opened at the premises. An advertisement in the Western Gazette on 19 September 1947 announced:
‘NEWELL HOUSE SCHOOL. The Board of Governors give notice that the autumn term begins on Wednesday, Sept. 24th. The School is for girls from 4-13 and for boys from 4-8 years old. Enquiries should be made of the Headmistress, Newell House. Mid-day meals available.’
Fifty years later, in May 1998, an advertisement for Newell House School demonstrates that it had moved with the times and was now offering ‘Traditional teaching supported by modern technology – Preparing your child for the challenge of the 21st Century’. Sadly, Newell House School closed on 23 August 2000.
Rachel Hassall
Archivist, Sherborne School.
29 April 2026
- Further information:
Newell House, Historic England listing (Grade II listed) - Newell House Barn, Historic England listing (Grade II listed)
- Sherborne Conservation Area Appraisal, West Dorset District Council, 2008
- Newell House School Prospectus, 1992 (pdf)
- Vacant Haven, YouTube film of the abandoned Newell House School – part 1 posted 9 March 2025 & part 2 posted 16 March 2025
Footnotes:
[1] On 24 April 1987 a letter appeared in the Western Gazette asking former pupils to submit information, photos or anecdotes for an exhibition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Newell House School.
[2] Gov.uk – Get information about Schools – Newell House School https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/113916#school-dashboard (accessed 27 April 2026)
[3] Building of the Month April 2023: Newell House School, Cornhill, Sherborne DT9 3PL https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/news/building-of-the-month-april-2023-newell-house-school-cornhill-sherborne-dorset-dt9-3pl (accessed 27 April 2026)
[4] Newell House School official list entry, Historic England Newell House School Including Forecourt Walls, Railings and Gates, Sherborne – 1110757 | Historic England (accessed 27 April 2026)
[5] Barn to Newell House School official list entry, Historic England Barn to Newell House School, Sherborne – 1304878 | Historic England (accessed 27 April 2026)
[6] Ann Clark (ed.), Sherborne Almshouse Register ((Dorset Record Society, vol.17, 2013), p.xxxvii
[7] John Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of Dorset (2nd ed., 1815) p.80, notes that William Toogood, a cousin of James Toogood (1752-1816) who in 1799 purchased Sherborne House, ‘had a handsome new-built mansion near New-well water…’
[8] J. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses (Oxford: James Parker & Col, 1891), p.1426
[9] B. Pickering Pick, The Sherborne Register 1550-1950 (Winchester: Warren & Son Ltd., 1950).
[10] TNA ref. MH 13/165/264 Folios 556-558, 560-563, Urban Districts General Board of Health correspondence.
[11] ‘DEATH OF MR HERBERT CROSSE’, Western Chronicle, 23 October 1908. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[12] ‘BY DIRECTION OF MAJOR F.J.B. WINGFIELD DIGBY SHERBORNE, DORSET. TWO FREEHOLD RESIDENCES, WITH VACANT POSSESSION, known as NEWELL HOUSE IN TUDOR DESIGN, AND THE RED HOUSE, IN QUEEN ANNE STYLE’, Country Life, 24 July 1920. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[13] ‘TRAGIC DEATH OF MR H. DYSON. FATAL FALL FROM A LADDER’, Western Gazette, 27 May 1921. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[14] ‘SALE THIS DAY (FRIDAY). SHORT NOTICE OF SALE. NEWELL HOUSE, SHERBORNE’, Western Gazette, 28 March 1924. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[15] ‘LOST’, Western Gazette, 21 September 1934. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[16] Western Gazette, 16 November 1934. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[17] ‘ROAD IIMPROVEMENT AT NEWELL’, Western Gazette, 18 January 1924. British Newspaper Archive (accessed 27 April 2026)
[18] Katherine Barker, Sherborne Camera (Wimborne: Dovecote Press Ltd., 1990), no.55.