Caerhays Castle
The Caerhayes Estate has only changed hands once in over 600 years. But for the profligacy of the man who built the castle, it might not have changed hands then. The Trevanions acquired the estate - stretching from Portloe to Mevagissey - in 1370. Nothing is known about the homes they built until, around 1805, John Bettesworth Trevanion hired architect John Nash to build the present house. Nash's extravagance bankrupted Trevanion and the entire contents of the castle, even the lead off its roof, were sold. Eventually John Williams - major Cornish mine owner and banker - bought it in a state of dereliction in 1855.
I took the guided tour in April 2005. I cannot recommend it. Our guide felt compelled to entertain us with irrelevant anecdotes and personal asides and, though good on the history, offered us little information on the contents. Portraits include works by Reynolds, Romney and Cornishman John Opie. Paintings include Dutch, animal paintings, seascapes and watercolours of the Williams family's former Scottish estates. All that remains of Trevanion days is a portrait of a Chesapeake Bay retreiver. Chinese porcelain looks good. The house is high-ceilinged and light but one feels restricted by the narrow boardwalk between tightly roped-off areas. Library and Drawing Room are most attractive. The old billiard room is now a museum and gallery - interesting material but you can't linger. Anyway, the garden is the real attraction here.
From A3078 Tregony-St. Mawes, follow signs Portloe, Caerhays
Caerhays from the driveway from Porthluney Beach
More in Historic Homes
Cotehele House
We had last been at Cotehele in 1988 so, on a glorious sunny March Sunday in 2003, we decided to re-visit, as we have many times since. Set high above the broad River Tamar, Cotehele was in the Edgcumbe family for 600 years until gifted to the National Trust. There is a lot to see - the House, two Gardens, Cotehele Quay - with a small maritime museum and restored Tamar Sailing Barge - and a working water mill. Thanks to the Edcumbes building a new mansion in 1553 on the Rame Peninsula opposite Plymouth, Cotehele remains a little altered Tudor manor. Its small-scale but rambling interior is furnished mostly with Jacobean oak. Walls are hung with rich tapestries and bedrooms have handsome four-poster beds with crewel-work hangings. Highlights include a massive 400-year-old walnut veneered cabinet with Adam and Eve carvings, an ornate mirror painted around 1700 by Boldini and, in the White Bedroom, a 1688 mirror bordered by entertaining stump-work . There is a short introductory film and a good restaurant and shop. In the east wing there is an art and craft gallery. Try to avoid dull days as the National Trust believes in low light, in order to conserve ancient textiles and paintings.
Godolphin House and Estate
The Godolphins were one of Cornwall's great families, wealthy from tin and copper mining and influential at court, but their home degenerated to farmhouse after the line died out in the early 18th century. In 1937 it was bought by Philadelphia Impressionist artist Elmer Schofield. For 70 years the Schofield family struggled to maintain and restore Godolphin but in 2007 it passed to the National Trust. Inside is fine 16th and 17th century English furniture, a good collection of Windsor chairs, and the paintings of Elmer Schofield and his son Sidney. The famous Wootton portrait of the Godolphin Arabian racehorse, one of three from which all thoroughbreds descend, was once here; sadly no longer. We first visited in May 2003, admired the ancient buildings, enjoyed the open part of the house, tended by aged docents, and had a glorious walk. We revisited in 2006 and again in April 2007. We were back again in 2009 to check on progress of the house under the National Trust and to see how restoration of the important medieval garden is going. Also in April 2007 I had a delightful walk from here taking in both Godolphin Hill and Tregonning Hill. It is well worth visiting Godolphin at bluebell time, the woods are absolutely carpeted with them.
Lanhydrock House, Garden and Estate
Lanhydrock is the National Trust's most visited Cornish property, though many visitors are locals who come just to enjoy the extensive parkland and woodland gardens (if all you want to do is walk in the park, a public footpath runs through). As a result, the house is rarely as busy as the car park may suggest. The ancestral home of the Robartes family has every appearance of a great Tudor mansion but only one wing is original; the rest was rebuilt in entirely sympathetic style after a disastrous fire in 1881. Inside, the Victorian rooms are impressive but for us the most enjoyable feature was the remarkably preserved 'below stairs', from where dozens of servants ran the house with military precision. There is a small church behind the house, carefully tended formal gardens between the gatehouse and the house, spring gardens behind the church and hilly woodland gardens, filled with bluebells in spring, running down towards the River Fowey. Lanhydrock is just to the south of Bodmin and easily accessible from the main A30 highway (it is well signed). There are three restaurants - one in the house, one in the courtyard, one by the main car park - and a good shop. Parking is a long way from the house but a golf buggy operates a shuttle service for those not wanting to walk. See Countryside page for Walks on the Estate