Moccas Court is an 18th-century country house which sits in sloping grounds overlooking the
River Wye
The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...
north of the village of
Moccas
Moccas is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Herefordshire. It is located west of Hereford. The population of the civil parish taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 105.
Th ...
, Herefordshire, England. It is now a luxury guest house and function venue.
The house was built in 1775–81 by the architect
Anthony Keck
Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales.
Life
Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726 He designed in the "austere ...
for
Sir George Armyand Cornewall to replace the existing Manor house near the church. Built in three storeys to a rectangular plan, it was constructed of brick with stone dressings and a stone tile roof. It has a seven bay frontage with a single storey semi-circular plan porch which was added in 1792. The grounds were landscaped to plans by
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...
. The house is a Grade I listed building.
The Cornewall family occupied Moccas until 1916 when
Sir Geoffrey Cornewall, the 6th Baronet, moved to a smaller house on the estate, after which the house was let on a long lease. After death of Sir William Cornewall, the 7th Baronet in 1962, the estate passed to the Chester-Master family who owned the house until 2014. They undertook a programme of restoration and modernisation and offered luxury guest accommodation.
In late 2014, the house and estate of circa 200 acres was sold, for an undisclosed price, to
Linda Bennett
Linda Kristin Bennett (born 8 September 1962) is an English clothing designer and entrepreneur, best known for founding the fashion retailer L.K.Bennett.
Early life
Born in London, Bennett is the daughter of a London-based fashion retail entr ...
, founder of the
LK Bennett
LK Bennett is a luxury fashion brand, based in London, United Kingdom. The company sells ready-to-wear collections incorporating clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories.
History
Linda Bennett set up the first LK Bennett shop in Wimbledon Vil ...
shoes and fashion brand. It is believed her husband was brought up in the locality.
[Sales Brochure by Frank Knight]
References
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Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire
Country houses in Herefordshire
Grade I listed houses