Track leading to Merthen Manor - geograph

Merthen Manor ( kw, Merdhin, meaning ''sea fort'') is a 16th-century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

in west

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, England, UK. For most of its history it has been in the ownership of the prominent Cornish family, the

Vyvyan family : ''For the Vivian family of Glynn and Truro, Cornwall, see Baron Vivian.'' The Vyvyans are a prominent Cornish family who were members of Parliament, baronets, and landowners in Penwith and Kerrier since the 15th century. The Vyvyan family ...

. The house is set in over of woodland which, along with the shoreline of the

Helford River The Helford River ( kw, Dowr Mahonyer) is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwit ...

, is designated as ''Merthen Woods''

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI).

History

The land of Merthen was originally part of the manor of Winnianton, which was given to

Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of P ...

by his brother, Henry III, in 1225, who then swapped it with Gervase de Tintagel for

Tintagel Castle Tintagel Castle ( kw, Dintagel) is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel (Trevena), North Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British ...

. Ralph Reskymer obtained Merthen in the early part of the 15th century, and it became family seat of the Reskymers. The current manor house is thought to have been built in 1575 by John Reskymer and his wife Grace, due to their coat of arms over the entrance, although it may originate earlier and the coat of arms are an indication a remodelling or reduction. Grace died in 1627, 10 years after her husband, and in 1629 it was sold to Sir Francis Vyvyan of

Trelowarren Mawgan-in-Meneage is a civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Meneage district of The Lizard peninsula south of Helston in the former administrative district of Kerrier. The parish population at the 2011 census wa ...

and has remained with the family since. In the early 19th century the house was remodelled again, and the interior was renovated in the 20th century.

Estate

In the early part of Merthen's history it was the prominent place of the parish and had a deer park.

Merthen Wood

The woods to the south of the manor house, on the banks of the

, were designated a

in 1972 for their

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

characteristics. The site is of importance due to its population of Sessile Oak (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...

''). Other notable species within the woods include the nationally uncommon Bastard Balm (''

Melittis melissophyllum ''Melittis melissophyllum'' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Its common name is bastard balm. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melittis''.Scheen, A. C., et al. (2008)Molecular phylogenetics of tribe S ...

'') and the nationally rare mosses '' Fissidens curnowii'' and ''

Hookeria lucens ''Hookeria lucens'', the shining hookeria, is a species of moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the ...

''. The woods are home to the largest British population of '' Anchonidium unguiculare'' rare

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

, which only exist in woodland along the Helford River within

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Merthen Manor today

Merthen Manor, now owned by Mary Vyvyan, 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 ...

and provides

bed & breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

accommodation in the main house and self-catering accommodation in the converted barn.

References

External links

Merthen Manor website
{{Portal bar, Cornwall, United Kingdom, Architecture, border=no Country houses in Cornwall Manors in Cornwall Grade II* listed buildings in Cornwall Grade II* listed houses Houses completed in 1575 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Nature Conservation Review sites National Heritage List for England Buildings and structures in Cornwall