Woodchester Park is hidden in a wooded valley at the end of a long drive near the western Cotswolds escarpment.
Although uncompleted this beautiful Gothic Revival house is one of the most facinating buildings of its date in the country.
In 1845 the land was sold by the 2nd Lord Ducie to William Leigh, the son of a wealthy Liverpool merchant. Leigh had recently converted to Roman Catholicism and commissioned A.W. Pugin, a fellow convert, to design the house.
Work began on the house in 1854 (after Pugin's death) and Leigh chose one of Hansom's assistants, Benjamin Bucknall, as his architect. The building work progressed slowly and in 1868 came to a complete halt, for reasons that have not been sufficently explained.
The walls and roofs were finished but many of the floors were not laid and the rooms were left as empty shells.
After Leigh's death in 1873, his descendants decided to leave Woodchester Park standing but no more work was carried out on the building. The property was sold in 1938 and remained in good condition until the 1980's.
Following this period decay and vandalism prompted the local authority to purchase Woodchester Park and repair the structure with the aid of a grant from English Heritage.
The house is now cared for by the Woodchester Mansion Trust whose repair programme includes courses in stonemansonry and building conservation.
Woodchester Park is constructed from local limestone and offers an insight into traditional building techniques. The house is vaulted in stone throughout.
Wood is only used in the rafters but, if completed, some of the upper floors and ceilings would have also have been made of wood.
The house is set around a courtyard with large mullioned and transomed windows between the buttresses which counteract the outward thrust of the stonework within. Bizarre gargoles drain water from the roof.
A tower rises from the courtyard side of the west or entrance range and a vaulted Chapel projects from the east range. This has an east window of Decorated Gothic tracery.
Only two interiors are in their completed form - the Drawing Room and the Chapel. When the builders abandoned the site in 1868 they left much of their equipment behind.
The lack of floors and ceilings means there are some impressive spaces, notably the main Staircase which rises on the inner side of the south range.
The surrounding 400 acre park is owed by the National Trust.
Mansion: various Open Days - see website: Park: open daily 09:00-Dusk
Tel: 01453 861541 Woodchester Park Website
