Erisey was a manor on the

Lizard Peninsula The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK and is the surname of the family that built the house. The manor was originally in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Grade, and since 1934, Grade-Ruan. The

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

was built by Richard Erisey in the 17th-century and in the 18th-century was owned by the Boscawan family of

Tregothnan Tregothnan is a country house and estate near the village of St Michael Penkivel, southeast of Truro, Cornwall, England, which has for many centuries been a possession of the Boscawens. Geography Location Tregothnan is located on a hill overlo ...

Geography

Erisey is named as Erisey Barton on the

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() and is on the Lizard Peninsula, at the southern end of Goonhilly Downs and to the east of the A3083

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

Lizard (village) Lizard, also known as The Lizard, is a village on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated about south of Helston, and is mainland Britain's most southerly settlement. Lizard is a tourist centre and its lar ...

road.

History

The Erisey family can be traced back to the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

(1239–1307). James Erisey (died 1522) was the

Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, oth ...

in 1513 and there is a brass memorial recording his death and that of his wife, Margaret in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Another James Erisey was born at Erisey and was a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

with

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...

. The house was built in the shape of a letter E by Richard Erisey in 1620. John Erisey added gardens before he died in about 1671 and the last male descendant, Richard, died in 1722.

Admiral Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands duri ...

(1711–1761) of

purchased the property from the co-heiresses of the Erisey family sometime in the middle of the 18th-century. The present building was probably built in the late 18th or early 19th-century. Oliver Rackham, who studied the history and development of the countryside considered the pattern of farms and fields on the Lizard to be largely complete by the 14th-century. He considered the Erisey estate to be an example of ″in-field and out-field system″ with small, highly cultivated fields near the house surrounded by the moorland of the manor, and separated from the wider moorland by a great outer wall. In 1880 the estate was owned by

Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth (18 March 1819 – 6 November 1889), was a breeder of race horses and the winner of many classic races. Personal life His parents were the Reverend Hon John Evelyn Boscawen, Canon of Canterbury, (1790� ...

, occupied by a Mr James James and consisted of 177 acres of arable and pasture land, dwelling house and buildings. A ''To Let'' notice for a new tenant was published in

The Cornishman ''The Cornishman'' is a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which was first published on 18 July 1878. Circulation for the first two editions was 4,000. An edition is currently printed every Thursday. In early Fe ...

in July 1880.

References

{{reflist Country houses in Cornwall Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall Houses completed in 1620 Lizard Peninsula