Cerney House

Cerney House is a country house with a complex history, initially built in the 17th century by the Rich family. The house was largely destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt by Thomas Tyndale around 1761. It was altered in the late 18th century, possibly by James Burton, with a service wing added and altered in the 19th century. Further alterations and a conservatory were added around 1970.

The house comprises two main ranges. The 17th-century range is constructed of coursed squared and dressed limestone with dressed stone quoins, while the 18th-century range is rendered. Both have stone slate roofs and ashlar stacks, one of which was restored in the 20th century. The 18th-century range is rectangular, with late 18th-century bow windows placed at the gable ends. Remnants of the 17th-century range are visible at the rear. The 17th-century section has two storeys and a cellar, while the 18th-century section has three storeys, with a single-storey conservatory attached. A blocked cross-mullioned window and traces of similar windows (now lacking mullions) remain in the 17th-century section.

The symmetrical entrance front of the 18th-century range has a 2:1:2 window arrangement, with rusticated quoins. This front features bow windows to the gable ends and 15-pane sashes on the ground floor, with 12-pane and 9-pane sashes above. A central Venetian window sits above the entrance. All windows are framed by plain stone architraves. The house has a 20th-century door with sunken panels, set within a late 20th-century flat-roofed porch with fluted columns supporting a fluted entablature, cornice, parapet, and ball finials. A modillion cornice runs around the bow windows at the gable ends, which echo the window arrangement on the front facade. Some gables are hipped, and there are axial, lateral, and gable-end stacks.

The interior features a neo-classical design. The entrance hall opens into a staircase hall with a cantilevered stone staircase and a 20th-century wrought iron balustrade. Numerous 18th-century interior features were removed during the 1970 alterations, including two niches in the entrance hall and a white marble, Rococo chimney piece in the drawing room.