Mount Edgcumbe House is a

stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

in south-east

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 ...

and is a

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 Ir ...

, whilst its gardens and parkland are listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

Mount Edgcumbe Country Park Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is listed as Grade I on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and is one of four designated country parks in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Ply ...

is situated in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Maker on the

Rame Peninsula The Rame Peninsula ( kw, Gorenys an Ros) is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. The peninsula is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to ...

, overlooking

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abou ...

; its main entrance is in the village of

Cremyll Cremyll (pronounced ) is a small coastal village in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Cremyll is on the Rame Peninsula facing Plymouth Sound. The village is about 9 miles by road or 0.5 miles by boat from Plymouth. It is in the civ ...

. It was the principal seat of the Edgcumbe family since Tudor times, many of whom served as MP before Richard Edgcumbe was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Edgcumbe in 1742. His 2nd son,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, was advanced to the rank of

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

in 1789.

History

Sir Richard Edgcumbe built the original house between 1547 and 1553 and it is said to have served as inspiration for architect

Robert Smythson Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 155 ...

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

. It was completely gutted during World War II by German bombs in 1941, with the restoration process beginning in 1958 at the 6th Earl's instigation. In 1971, the 7th Earl sold the estate to

Cornwall County Council Cornwall County Council ( kw, Konteth Konsel Kernow) was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. History Cornwall County Counc ...

and

Plymouth City Council Plymouth City Council is the unitary authority for Plymouth, Devon. It has traditionally been controlled by Labour or the Conservatives. The council is currently in a state of no overall control, with the Conservatives governing as a minority a ...

, and it has been open to the public since 1988. Its interiors have been restored to 18th-century styles. The Mount Edgcumbe House estate continues to be jointly owned by

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

and Plymouth City Council and is one of South East Cornwall's most popular historic tourist attractions. The Country Park, on the

, is the earliest landscaped grounds in Cornwall and is very popular with walkers: one can walk from the

Cremyll Ferry The Cremyll ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the Hamoaze (the estuary of the River Tamar) from Admirals Hard in Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devon to Cremyll in Cornwall. It is operated by Plymouth boat Trips, and runs approximately every 30 minut ...

through the property to the villages of

Kingsand Kingsand ( kw, Porthruw) and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' The villages are situated on the Rame Peninsula and are in the parish of Maker-w ...

and Cawsand. The Park, open to visitors every day all through the year from 8am till dusk, houses the National

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controv ...

Collection. A classic car show is held annually in the grounds, hosted by the ''Friends of Mount Edgcumbe'' and a variety of other events, which include art classes with Louise Courtnell, theatre performances, and a forestry school, are also held there. However, the House and the adjoining Earl's Garden are only open to visitors during the summer months, from the beginning of April until the end of September.

Historical features of interest

² Barn Pool, a sheltered deep water anchorage used by the Vikings in 997. Offshore is the wreck of the ship ''Catharina von Flensburg'', which went down in 1786. Barrow - a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

burial mound, dating from about 1200 BC, re-used as a "Prospect Mound" in the 18th century. A prospect mound is an artificial mound, generally conical, placed within a garden or park to provide a viewing point to overlook the garden or park. Blockhouse, c. 1545 - a small fort built on the shoreline during King Henry VIII's reign, to defend the mouth of the Tamar and the Edgcumbe's town of Stonehouse opposite. Coastguard Station at Rame, originally a Lloyds Signal Station, where signalling was done from passing ships to the station by flags during the day and by lights at night; it became a radio station in 1905, then transferred to the Coastguards c.1925. Now run by Coastwatch.

c. 1204 - a major ferry crossing between Devon and Cornwall since medieval times. The

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

still operates a foot passenger service between Cremyll and Plymouth. The Deer Wall, c. 1695 - a stone wall with outer ditch protecting the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

from deer, now incomplete. Deer on Rame Peninsula, In 1515 Sir Piers Edgcumbe was given permission by King Henry VIII to empark deer. Their descendants still roam freely throughout Rame. Folly, c. 1747 - an artificial ruin which replaced a navigation obelisk. The folly was built from medieval stone taken from the ruined churches of St George and St Lawrence, at Stonehouse. Formal Gardens, c. 1750 to 1820 - Italian, English and French style gardens. Recent additions to the grounds include the New Zealand and American gardens (1989) and the Jubilee Gardens (2003). St Mary's and St Julian's Church, first mentioned in 1186 and enlarged in the 15th century, the Church of St Mary and St Julian of Maker with Rame includes the Edgcumbe Chapel - the present

Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for George Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe. This branch of the Edgcumbe family descends from Sir Piers Edgcumbe of Cotehele in Cornwall (descended from the ...

remains Patron of the Living. Milton's Temple, c. 1755 - a circular Ionian temple, with a plaque inscribed with lines from the poem ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'', "overhead up grew, Insuperable heights of loftiest shade....."

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

, (1608–1674). The Orangery, situated in the Italian Garden, this is thought to have been built as early as 1760. The building is now a fully licensed restaurant. Stables c. 1850 - The stables, dairy, smithy, sawmill and stores, all essential to the running of the Mount Edgcumbe estate. This area is now open to visitors.

References

External links

Official website English Heritage: Images of England, architectural description of listed buildingPlymouth City Council: Mount Edgcumbe WebsiteVisit Cornwall: Images of the house and parkThe Friends of Mount Edgcumbewww.manorlodgemillbrook.com - Lady Megan Edgcumbe
{{Coord, 50, 21, 16, N, 4, 10, 35, W, display=title Gardens in Cornwall Country houses in Cornwall Museums in Cornwall Historic house museums in Cornwall Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall Grade I listed garden and park buildings