Whiteford House was an English country house near

Stoke Climsland Stoke Climsland is a village in the valley of the River Tamar, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom within the civil parish of Stokeclimsland. The population of the parish including Luckett at the 2011 census was 1,703. An electoral ward of the s ...

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 ...

. It was built in 1775 by

John Call Sir John Call, 1st Baronet (30 June 1731 – 1 March 1801) was an English engineer and baronet. He was born at Fenny Park, Tiverton, Devon, educated at Blundell's School and went to India at the age of 17 with Benjamin Robins, the chief enginee ...

and demolished in 1913.

History

There had been a house at Whiteford since around the 13th century, owned by various families. The estate was sold to John Call in 1763. His son, also named

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, became High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1771, and built Whiteford House in 1775 after returning from working in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. It was described as having "a handsome front" and as well as being lavishly designed, the house included a "looking-glass room" where a post boy was reportedly held prisoner by a parlour maid. Little of the house survives. Some fragments are incorporated in the house of the agent of the home farm, i.e. a Tuscan Doric porch and some tripartite windows. Call's descendants retained ownership of the house until 1870. The estate was briefly owned by the Montague family before being sold to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 1879 and the mansion was converted into an office for the Duchy of Cornwall, who sold off all its contents and furnishings for a pittance. The main house was demolished in 1913 while still in the ownership of the Duchy and some of the stone was used to build the nearby

Duchy College The Duchy College Rural Business School was founded in 2006. It is part of the Cornwall College Group and its main purpose is to provide a range of services that meet the needs of rural communities, including training opportunities, business suppo ...

. The stables and a garden folly survive, and the folly (called Whiteford Temple) survive, and Whiteford Temple is now owned by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

and let as a holiday cottage. There are Coade stone plaques on the exterior of the Temple. From 2001 until 2012, the grounds of Whiteford House hosted the Whiteford Music Festival.

References

Notes Citations {{authority control Country houses in Cornwall Duchy of Cornwall Demolished buildings and structures in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1913