Piers Court

Piers Court
Location of Piers Court in Gloucestershire
Type	Country house
Location	Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire
Coordinates	51°41′12″N2°23′14″W / 51.68675°N 2.3872°W / 51.68675; -2.3872
Built	late 18th century with earlier work
Architectural style(s)	Palladian
Owner	Private
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Piers Court
Designated	2 June 1952
Reference no.	1305626
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Stable block southwest of Piers Court
Designated	23 June 1952
Reference no.	1090881

Piers Court is a country house in Stinchcombe on the Cotswold Edge in Gloucestershire, England. A Grade II* listed building, in the mid-20th century the court was home to the novelist Evelyn Waugh. ^[1]

History

The present house was built by John Wallington at the very end of the 18th century. It incorporates elements of an older building. ^[2]

Evelyn Waugh lived at Piers Court from 1937 to 1956, and wrote many of his best known works there, including Scoop , Brideshead Revisited , Men at Arms and Officers and Gentlemen . ^{[1] [lower-alpha 1]} In 1955 Waugh was enraged when two journalists from the Daily Express, Nancy Spain and Noel Buxton arrived at Piers Court, having previously been declined an interview. An acrimonious and public correspondence saw Waugh successfully sue Spain for libel. But his enjoyment of the house was marred and he sold it the following year. ^{[4] [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]}

Waugh’s library at Piers Court was sold by a subsequent owner and the fixtures and fittings, including the prominent bookcases, were sent to the US with the intention of reconstructing the library in a museum. ^{[7] [lower-alpha 4]}

In December 2022, the court was sold by auction, for £3.16m. ^[9] The sales arrangements were unusual, as the presence of sitting tenants precluded potential purchasers from viewing the property. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Architecture and description

The house is built of local stone with the main block consisting of seven bays and two storeys. ^[2] Historic England's listing record notes that this central block, designed in a Palladian style and dating from the late 18th century, abuts a lower wing with earlier origins, probably of the 16th century. ^[13] The pediment below the roof is surmounted by an "elaborate" coat of arms. ^[2] David Verey and Alan Brooks, in their 2000 revised edition of Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds, in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describe Piers Court as a "dignified and elegant house." ^[2] It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1952. ^[13] The adjacent stable block is listed at Grade II. ^[14]

Notes

1. Although many sources indicate that Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited at Piers Court, the Evelyn Waugh Society notes that the book was written in 1944, while the house was let. The society suggests that the book was written while Waugh was staying at Chagford in Devon, and revised while he was on active service in Yugoslavia. ^[3]
2. In a letter to Ann Fleming dated 7 November 1956, Waugh described his leaving; "I have had a gruesome week. Left Stinkers [his name for Piers Court, a play on Stinchcombe, the house's location] for good and drove to Lancashire to entertain my dreadful little boy at Stoneyhurst." ^[5]
3. Having viewed a range of alternatives, Waugh moved to Combe Florey House in Somerset where he died in 1966. ^[6]
4. Waugh’s books are now held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. ^[8]

References

1. Neate, Rupert (11 December 2022). "Evelyn Waugh's once-beloved Cotswold mansion up for auction at £2.5m". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
2. Verey & Brooks 2000, p. 634.
3. Manley, Jeffrey (11 December 2022). "Piers Court auction". Evelyn Waugh Society. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
4. Page 1997, pp. 143–145.
5. Amory 1995, pp. 477–478.
6. Mitford & Waugh 1996, p. 397.
7. "Piers Court". Di Camillo. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
8. "Evelyn Waugh - An Inventory of His Collection". Harry Ransom Center . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
9. Neate, Rupert (15 December 2022). "Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead mansion sold for £3m despite tenants refusing to leave". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 December 2022.
10. "Piers Court, Stinchcombe". Knight Frank. December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
11. "Freehold Grade II* listed Georgian manor house". Allsop Auctions. December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
12. Keel, Toby (12 December 2022). "Evelyn Waugh's former house is going under the hammer". Country Life . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
13. Historic England. "Piers Court, Wooton Road (Grade II*) (1305626)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
14. Historic England. "Stable block southwest of Piers Court (Grade II) (1090881)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 12 December 2022.

Sources

• Mitford, Nancy; Waugh, Evelyn (1996). Charlotte Mosley (ed.). The Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   978-0-340-63804-0.
• Page, Norman (1997). An Evelyn Waugh Chronology. New York: Springer Publishing. ISBN   978-0-230-37254-2.
• Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2000) [1970]. Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds. The Buildings of England. London: Penguin Books. ISBN   0-14-071098-1.
• Waugh, Evelyn (1995) [1980]. Mark Amory (ed.). The Letters of Evelyn Waugh. London: Phoenix. ISBN   1-85799-245-8.