Ruins of Piercefield House (Central Block)

Ruins of Piercefield House (Central Block)

This is a large rectangular block constructed of Bath limestone ashlar with internal walls of red brick. The front and side walls are largely complete, the rear wall is substantially gone, and the roof is entirely missing. The building was originally detached from later pavilions, which are listed separately.

The main south elevation displays two storeys with a full attic storey. The lower two floors are articulated by six giant order Ionic pilasters carrying a full entablature; the bases are set on a plinth but are now hidden by undergrowth. The pilasters are arranged 1 + 2 + 2 + 1, whilst the windows are arranged evenly with much wider gaps on the outside than between them. The ground floor contains three openings only. The outer bays have wide windows with flat heads within arched recesses; these were tripartite windows with semi-circular tympana. The centre bay has a large square-headed opening for centre doors and sidelights, though these and the semi-circular Doric porch have been removed. Scarring and fragments remain, with a Roman Doric column surviving on the right-hand side of the opening. Between these bays are apsed alcoves for statues. The first floor has five tall openings for sash windows, all now lacking their cills. The attic windows stand on the cornice and have also lost their cills; the centre three are set slightly forward. A secondary modillion cornice runs across the return walls and originally continued across the rear. The side elevations are similar, though partly obscured by undergrowth; the east elevation is clearer. This comprises four bays with chimney stacks projecting between the outer and inner windows. The ground floor was blind to the main south room. The join to the pavilion was between the chimneys and appears to have been little more than a corridor. Photographs show this as a five-bay arcade with a pitched roof. The rear room, probably the breakfast room, had a large square-headed window. The first floor had four 6-over-6 pane sashes, of which the south two survive. The attic floor had 3-over-3 sashes, of which the most southerly survives. Two ashlar stacks with weathered caps are visible. The west wall appears similar but is more damaged, with only the front stack surviving above the parapet. These stacks are corbelled out at first floor level and did not heat the ground floor rooms. This wall has only one window between the stacks, unlike the east elevation. The corridor to the pavilion was between the stacks as before. The rear wall is mostly collapsed, as are the two-storey service wings; walling with three window openings on each floor survives on the east side.

Nothing survives beyond the brick cross-walls. The rich interiors by Joseph Bonomi were dismantled after the sale to Chepstow Racecourse Company in 1925. In 1819, the Drawing Room, Dining Room, and Saloon containing the main staircase were located in the central block, whilst the attached pavilions housed the Library and Music Room.