Nowton is a small village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England, situated to the south of the vast Nowton Park.
Originally part of the Oakes family estate, the park is now owned by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, and is used for recreation, leisure and nature conservation. It is renowned for its Lime Avenue – with about 100,000 daffodils that emerge in spring. This gives a stunning view from the house in March & April!
In 1802, Orbell Ray Oakes (the eldest son of Bury Banker James Oakes) purchased Nowton Cottage from farmer John Drinkmill. After his death in 1837, his son, HJ Oakes, started to enlarge the house. The result is a Tudor style property with red brick and stone dressings, and tall ornate chimneys of white brick.
In 1946, the then Orbell Oakes rented the house as a preparatory school for boys – Nowton Court School. In 1984/85 he eventually sold the whole estate, including the school, to St Edmundsbury Borough Council. With competition from other schools, Nowton eventually closed in 1989, when staff and pupils moved to Old Buckenham Hall in Brettenham. Its most famous alumnus is Nigel Havers. We are often visited by former pupils who tell us lots of stories about their time here – and how the building has changed. The school bell still sits in its tower – and we do sometimes ring it for posterity!
St Edmundsbury then sold the school and the grounds to the Matsuzato Corporation, but retained Nowton Park. An amazing refurbishment with sympathetic extensions was undertaken by Hutton Construction from Colchester – with the intention of opening a Japanese finishing school (St Edmundsbury Ladies College). A downturn in the value of the Yen meant that it never realised it’s ambitions. Nowton was then acquired by the Keio University (the oldest western-style university n Japan). Unfortunately, Keio also failed to attract any meaningful numbers to the school.
Nowton Court is now run by Heritage Manor as an assisted living home. The rooms have now been converted into beautiful and spacious suites for people to enjoy a luxury retirement.
