Cornwall
Gardens & Great Houses to Visit in Cornwall
Antony House | Caerhays Castle | Cotehele | Lanhydrock | Lost Gardens of Heligan | Mount Edgcombe House | Pencarrow House | Prideaux Place | Trebah Gardens
Antony House
Antony House is an early 18th Century National Trust property set on a rather remote peninsula between the rivers Tamar and Lyner in Torpoint. It was built between 1711 and 1721 for Sir William Carew. The grounds, landscaped by Repton, include a formal garden with modern sculptures and the National Collection of Daylilies (hemerocallis). The adjoining Woodland Garden contains rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias and camellias.
In 2010, Antony House was used as the set for Walt Disney's magical new film "Alice in Wonderland", directed by Tim Burton. The house and grounds are open to the public during the summer.
Caerhays Castle
Caerhays Castle is located just around Dodman Point some 4 km west of Mevagissey. This ancient manor was once owned by the Trevanions, one of whom fought for Henry at Bosworth Field. In 1808 the old manor was demolished and a large towered and castellated mansion erected from a design by John Nash, the architect of Buckingham Palace. The terraced gardens containing many ornamental and exotic trees and the house itself are open to the public during the summer.
Cotehele
One of the finest medieval and Tudor manor houses in England, dating from 1485-1539.
Lanhydrock
Begun in the 17th century by Lord Robartes, the house, overlooking the River Fowey, was largely rebuilt following a fire in 1881. It still retains its original 17th-century gatehouse and north wing.
Run by the National Trust
Lost Gardens of Heligan
The Lost Gardens of Heligan are today no longer lost but can be found just 2.4 km outside of Mevagissey. These popular botanical gardens were created by the Tremayne family from the mid 18th to the early 20th century. Due to so many of the gardeners being killed during WWI, the gardens were neglected following the war and not restored until the 1990s. The restoration was well publicised by books and TV programs. The gardens contain many mature rhododendrons and camellias and have a series of lakes fed by a pumping system over a century old. The flower and vegetable gardens, the Italian garden and a wild area of sub-tropical tree ferns draw gardening enthusiasts from many parts.
Mount Edgcombe House and Country Park
Mount Edgcumbe House is a stately home impressively positioned on the Rame Peninsula overlooking Plymouth Sound. It is set within 865 acres Country Park, the entrance being in Cremell village, which can be reached by ferry from Plymouth. The estate is one of the region's most popular tourist destinations and is open daily all year round from 8am to dusk. The park houses the National Camellia Collection.
Pencarrow House
A Georgian mansion full of 18th-century treasures and with an Italian garden.
Trebah Gardens
Trebah Gardens at Mawnan Smith sweep down through a tree-lined valley to the Helford River. The gardens, which are open to the public, are a colourful delight of sub-tropical plants and flowers. A tranquil beach down by the river has not always been as peaceful. In the June of 1944 thousands of American troops were loaded into landing craft at this beach in preparation for the D-Day landings. Today, the area is known as "American Beach" and has a memorial stone inscribed:
To the officers and men of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division, who embarked from Trebah in June 1944 for the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach. We will remember them.
Visitors from the USA still come to remember these brave young men, many of whom never returned to their native land.
Prideaux Place
Prideaux Place is an Elizabethan manor house perched on a hill above Padstow. It has been the home of the Prideaux-Brune family for over 400 years and is now open to the public. The house is a mixture of Elizabethan, Georgian and Regency Gothic and contains magnificent rooms and fine furnishings .The surrounding gardens and wooded grounds overlook a deer park which in 2006 formed the backdrop for the Antiques Road Show.
Trerice
An Elizabethan manor house rebuilt by John Arundell in 1571, on the site of an older house.
Run by the National Trust
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