Coughton Court

Coughton Court is a country house of major historical importance, with a substantial gatehouse dating from the late 15th century and remodelled after 1518, plus early and late 16th-century ranges, late 17th-century additions, a remodelled west front of 1780, and further additions and remodelling of 1835. The building is constructed in limestone ashlar for the gatehouse, with timber framing and lath and plaster infill, brick, and imitation stone render elsewhere. Roofs are tiled and lead, with brick chimneys. The plan is U-shaped, formerly enclosing a courtyard, rising to 2 and 3 storeys across a 13-window range.

The symmetrical west entrance front features a 3-storey central gatehouse range with a moulded plinth and double string course. The ground floor is square with corner turrets, entered through 19th-century Gothic panelled part-glazed double-leaf doors set in a 4-centred moulded arch with square head, hood mould and carved spandrels. Stone mullioned and transomed windows with arched lights run throughout, with upper floors of different coloured stone. A 2-storey canted oriel with flanking lights and glazed octagonal turrets rises between the main turrets, which are unglazed above, carrying shields of arms on each floor. The remainder of the front is 2 storeys only, with a single 5-light window with transom and hood mould. Clasping buttresses with quatrefoil panels project above the roof line. Crenellated parapets with string courses run throughout. The remainder of the front is scored imitation ashlar with stucco hood moulds. The ground floor has leaded 2-light casements; the 3 slightly recessed bays carry Gothick sashes with moulded surrounds on the first floor. Projecting end bays have clasping buttresses. The first floor features leaded cross windows, with a string course above and an attic containing quatrefoil panels, some part-glazed, topped by a crenellated parapet with string course.

The right return side is of thin bricks with two 17th-century shaped gables with stone coping. The left gable stands between 2 external brick stacks; the right gable bears ball finials. A 5-window range runs mostly with 17th-century stone cross windows. A narrow gabled wing is set back, followed by a high single-storey range with an early 20th-century window and plaster eaves cove.

The east front of the gatehouse has unglazed turrets and an inscription over the entrance. The irregular ranges surrounding the courtyard feature timber framing with brick ground floors. The east front has a corresponding small 4-centred doorway and irregular fenestration with moulded stone mullioned windows at ground floor level, wood mullions and casements above, some with transoms.

The 2-storey south range has close studding with a middle rail. Its left section breaks forward with 4 framed gables and brackets; the entrance sits in a recessed bay below the third gable, with a 4-centred moulded doorway with square head, hood mould and carved spandrels, flanked by paired 6-panelled doors with Gothick overlight. The right section carries 2 large gables and another behind and above in the roof, with decorative panel framing and elaborately carved scrolled bargeboards with finials and openwork pendants. Ground floor has 2 stone cross windows with arched lights; blocked arches appear above and in the centre.

The 2-storey and attic north range features close studding with 3 large framed gables and a smaller end gable, all with casements and brackets. Ground floor has four 3-light mullioned and transomed windows. The first floor projects on a plaster cove, with a blank gabled end wall.

The left return side contains a range dating from around 1690, with scored render and quoins. Three projecting bays carry hipped roofs. A 4-centred doorway opens to slightly projecting first floor with irregular fenestration of wood mullioned and transomed windows.

Interior features include an Entrance Hall with a plaster fan vault and a late 18th-century open well cantilevered staircase with moulded soffit and simple handrail, topped by a Gothick plasterwork cornice. The Drawing Room contains a simple early 16th-century stone fireplace and windows with 16th-, 17th- and 19th-century armorial glass, beneath a Gothick plasterwork cornice and 6-panelled doors. The Little Drawing Room has an 18th-century style carved wooden fireplace and a newel staircase to the roof. The Tower Room holds a moulded 4-centred fireplace with carved spandrels and projecting top, plus two 4-centred doorways; the north-east turret contains 2 hiding places. The Dining Room and Tribune feature fine 16th-century panelling, possibly with later work, displaying turned balusters, grotesques and medallions with heads. A fine marble chimneypiece in the Tribune carries paired Ionic and Corinthian columns, a cartouche and coat of arms.

The Saloon, formed in 1910, incorporates an arcaded panelled screen dating from around 1660. A 16th-century double-flight staircase from Harvington Hall displays heavy turned balusters and square newel posts with finials. The Study contains fine 17th-century panelling with pilasters and a ground floor with broad-chamfered ceiling beams. The north range retains part of a fine 16th-century panelled timber ceiling with moulded ribs and carved bosses, served by a dog-leg staircase with 17th-century turned balusters.

The Throckmortons, the family resident at Coughton, were Catholics deeply involved in the Throckmorton plot of 1583. In 1605 the wives of the Gunpowder Plotters awaited news at the house. In 1688 the east wing was destroyed by a Protestant mob and was finally cleared away in 1780.