Bernithan Court

Bernithan Court is a house dating from the late 17th century, possibly incorporating an earlier building. It features painted brick with a painted stone plinth and dressings, topped by a tiled swept roof. The house has a double depth plan with a central entrance and stairwell, and the rear yard is enclosed by brick walls attached to the north-west and north-east. There is also a former service block adjoining the property.

The building is two storeys high, with cellars and attics. It has a moulded string course and a coved cornice, along with five cross-casement windows that have solid frames. The central dormer includes a small vertical glazing bar sash window, flanked by 20th-century skylights. The entrance features a pedimented hood supported by carved brackets, a moulded architrave, and a six-panelled door.

On the north-west return, there are two-light stone mullioned windows that light the cellar, a central bolection moulded doorway, another two-light stone mullioned window, and two square-headed doorways at the rear. The well-plan roof has two symmetrically placed chimneys.

Inside, the house retains a significant number of contemporary fittings, including a main framed newel staircase with turned balusters, panelled newels, and moulded strings. The newels are connected by slender columns, and there is a second dog-leg staircase to the south-east with similar turned balusters. Decorative plastered ceilings in the staircase hall and a room to the north and north-east feature grape, pomegranate, and fleur-de-lis enrichments. The room to the north-east also contains late 17th-century panelling and a bolection moulded surround to the fireplace, which is similar to the fireplace in the hall.

Bernithan Court is considered a fine example of a late 17th-century gentry house, influenced by mid-17th-century Thorpe types and resembling Langstone Court. The impressive interior suggests a date around the late 17th century or circa 1700, correlating with a datestone of 1695 on a nearby barn. The design may have been inspired by Troy House near Monmouth, built for the Marquis of Worcester, or Castle House in Monmouth, also for Lord Worcester, both of which are typical post-Restoration houses.