the 1630s under John Walter (the Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1629), and a later extension around 1700 is believed to have been the work of the architect William Talman, also responsible for Chatsworth House. In 1727, the estate was sold for £3,366, 5.6d to Thomas Rous of Wotton-under-Edge. His son then sold it again in 1740, for £8,250, to Colonel Valentine Morris. Morris (c 1678–1743) was born in Antigua, the son of a slave owner, sugar planter and merchant. The estate was inherited by his son, also Valentine Morris (1727–1789), who began living at Piercefield with his family in 1753. At this time, the Piercefield estate was predominantly farmland and tourism to the Wye Valley was in its infancy. Morris, working with Richard Owen Cambridge, landscaped the grounds around the house in the style of Capability Brown. The work was largely undertaken by architect Charles Howells and builder William Knowles of Chepstow, who had also undertaken work at nearby Tintern for the Duke of Beaufort. Piercefield was developed into a park of national reputation, as one of the earliest examples of picturesque landscaping. Morris laid out walks through the woodland, and included a grotto, druid's temple, bathing house and giant's cave. He also developed viewpoints along the clifftop above the River Wye, and opened the park up to visitors. One of the many tourists to marvel at this view was the poet Coleridge, who wrote: "Oh what a godly scene....The whole world seemed imaged in its vast circumference". The scientist and traveller Joseph Banks wrote: "I am more and more convinced that it is far the most beautiful place I ever saw". In the 1770s Valentine Morris's gambling, business and political dealings bankrupted him, and he was forced to leave Piercefield for the West Indies. In 1785, Piercefield was sold again, for £26,200, to George Smith, a Durham banker, father of the linguist Elizabeth. Smith continued to open the walks, but straightened some of them. He also commissioned a young architect, John Soane to design a new mansion in the neo-classical style, which would incorporate Morris's house. Work began in 1792, and the new three-storey stone building had reached roof level when the Monmouthshire Bank, which Smith had helped found, failed and he became bankrupt. His creditors sold Piercefield in 1794 to Colonel Mark Wood, Member of Parliament for Newark-on-Trent, who continued and modified the work with architect Joseph Bonomi,