The present grounds of the Mansion House were bought in four lots by John Liscombe, leather merchant and sadler of Commercial Street, Newport, between 1886 and 1889. He built the House in the early 1890s and used it as his personal residence until his death in November 1914. John Liscombe was Mayor of Newport in 1905 and his portrait can be seen at the bottom of the stairs in the hall. The portrait was given to the Mansion House by the original leather merchants and saddlers firm which still operates in Newport.
