Moccas Court

MOCCAS CP MOCCAS PARK SO 34 SE 4/42 Moccas Court 2.9.66 GV I

Country house. 1775 - 1781 by Anthony Keck for Sir George Armyand Cornewall, with an addition of 1792. Brick with ashlar dressings and a stone tile roof. Rectangular plan aligned north-west/south-east. Central entrance hall leading to elliptical plan stair hall, behind which is the circular drawing room. To the north and music room and library, to south dining room (now sub-divided). Entrance (north-west) front: three storeys on a basement, plain parapet with dentilled stone cornice and central pediment, ashlar string to ground floor. Three plus one plus three windows, glazing bar sashes under segmental heads. Central window is Venetian under a semi-circular brick head, Ionic pilasters flanking central window. Ground floor windows of larger proportions. Entrance in a single storey semi-circular plan porch (added 1792) with balustrade to parapet. Entrance has a moulded ashlar architrave, overlight and panelled door. Six-pane sashes to second floor. Rear (north-east) front of three storeys on basement with central segmental plan bow. One plus three plus one windows, all glazing bar sashes. The two side elevations each have five windows. Interior: steps within porch rise to principal floor, the entrance hall having a dentilled frieze. Door to far end is flanked by pilasters and has fanlight above. This leads to the staircase, which is a single stone flight cantilevered out from wall rising to the first floor. The dome above has a central light surrounded by plaster decoration by Robert Adam. Music room to north of hall has a gilded frieze of musical instruments, echoed on the marble chimney piece. Library retains two book- cases (five removed in 1972). Elaborate frieze and a chimney piece of red scagliola. Circular drawing room decorated after a scheme of Robert Adam dated 1781. Ceiling of plasterwork, frieze and chimney piece executed to his designs with honeysuckle sprigs. Wall panels are Parisian wall paper bought in 1798. The house stands in grounds landscaped after a plan by Capability Brown. (Thompson, N: "Moccas Court, Herefordshire", pts I & II, CL, Vol 160, pp 1474 - 1477 and 1554 - 1557, 18.11. & 25.11.76).

Listing NGR: SO3577043533