Comments by Mark Thomas
12:51 25 May 2010
As someone who has long had an interest in the history of country houses I visited Piercefield a few months back. I was both shocked at the damage it has suffered over the past 90 or so years and charmed by its grandeur and beauty. The house's plight (as I see it) is this. No wealthy individual or company prepared to renovate the house and its outbuildings for profit has emerged after years of advertising it for sale. The asking price for the house and the land attached to it in the sale is anyway unrealistically high, especially because the cost of renovation would surely be more than the commercial value of the restored buildings. So, (along the lines of other recent comments on this site) surely instead a charitable trust should be formed to buy and rescue Piercefield. This has been done successfully at other mansions like Copped Hall in Essex. The building could be acquired and then gradually cleared of undergrowth and debris while being protected from vandalism. At a time when youth unemployment is increasing, it would surely be worthwhile to set up an MSC-type scheme for able-bodied young people to clear the site and its grounds of undergrowth and debris. At the same time, fund-raising could take place and perhaps some carefully-controlled opening to the public could be done. There is a tremendous interest out there in the history of house and its grounds and this could be harnessed. People would give money to an appeal if they were assured that the house would be rescued and have a real life again.