Lanhydrock House
Encyclopedia
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The parish lies south of the town of Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
and is bounded to the north by Bodmin parish, to the south by Lanlivery
Lanlivery
Lanlivery is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is located approximately 1½ miles west of Lostwithiel and five miles south of Bodmin....
parish and to the west by Lanivet
Lanivet
Lanivet is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately 2½ miles southwest of Bodmin. The Saints' Way long-distance footpath passes Lanivet near its half-way point....
parish. The population was 171 in the 2001 census. The Parish Council meets every two months in Lanhydrock Memorial Hall
Lanhydrock ecclesiastical parish is in the Deanery and Hundred of Pydar and in the Bodmin Registration District. The parish is in the Diocese of Truro
Diocese of Truro
The Diocese of Truro is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury.-Geography and history:The diocese's area is that of the county of Cornwall including the Isles of Scilly. It was formed on 15 December 1876 from the Archdeaconry of Cornwall in the Diocese of Exeter, it is thus one...
and is now part of the Bodmin Team Ministry
The parish church is dedicated to St Hydrock and stands in the grounds of Lanhydrock House. Parts date back to the late 15th century and the church has a chancel, nave, north and south aisles and three-stage battlemented tower with one bell.
Lanhydrock House
The great house stands in extensive grounds (360 hectares or 890 acres) above the River FoweyRiver Fowey
The River Fowey is a river in Cornwall, United Kingdom.It rises about north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, passes Lanhydrock House, Restormel Castle and Lostwithiel, then broadens at Milltown before joining the English Channel at Fowey. It is only navigable by larger craft for the last ....
and it has been owned and managed by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
since 1953. Much of the present house dates back to Victorian times
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
but some sections date from the 1620s. It is a Grade I listed building and is set in gardens with formal areas. The hill behind the house is planted with a fine selection of shrubs and trees.
Lanhydrock estate belonged to the Augustinian priory of St Petroc at Bodmin but the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
during the 1530s saw it pass into private hands. In 1620 wealthy merchant Sir Richard Robartes acquired the estate and began building Lanhydrock House, designed to a four-sided layout around a central courtyard and constructed of grey granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Robartes died in 1624 but work on the building was continued by his son John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor
John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor
John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor PC , known as The Lord Robartes between 1634 and 1679, was an English politician, who fought for the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War...
, a notable public figure who served as Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
and Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
.
During the 18th century the east wing of the house was demolished leaving the U-shaped plan seen today. In 1881 a major fire destroyed the south wing and caused extensive damage to the central section. Of the main house only the north wing, with its 29 m Long Gallery, and the front porch building survived intact, though the original gatehouse also dates back to the mid 17th century.
Recent history
Most of the current building, therefore, dates from late Victorian times. The second Lord Robartes (later the 6th Viscount ClifdenViscount Clifden
Viscount Clifden, of Gowran in the County of Kilkenny, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 January 1781 for James Agar, 1st Baron Clifden. He had already been created Baron Clifden, of Gowran in the County of Kilkenny, in 1776, also in the Peerage of Ireland...
) rebuilt the house to meet the needs of his large family, appointing local architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Richard Coad
Richard Coad
Richard Coad was a 19th century Cornish architect.Born in Liskeard, Cornwall, he was articled to Henry Rice of Liskeard and subsequently worked as assistant to Sir George Gilbert Scott from 1847 to 1864...
to design and supervise most of the work. Coad had previously (1857) worked as assistant to George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
on earlier work at Lanhydrock.
In 1953 the house and approximately 160 hectares (400 acres) of parkland were given to the National Trust by the 7th Viscount Clifden. The public tour is one of the longest of any National Trust house and takes in the service rooms, nurseries and some servants' bedrooms, as well as the main reception rooms and family bedrooms. In 2004 it was one of the Trust's ten most visited paid-entry properties, with over 200,000 visitors.
In 1872 Lord Robartes MP of Lanhydrock, Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
, was listed in the top ten land holdings in Cornwall with an estate of 22234 acres (90 km²) or 2.93% of Cornwall.
Lanhydrock was the main setting for a 1996 film version of Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996 film)
Twelfth Night or What You Will is a 1996 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. The adaptation is given a northern Central European feel, set in the late 19th century, with Orsino and his followers shown wearing Czapka...
directed by Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
, and starring Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as Olivia.
On 12 June 2008 Lanhydrock hosted an episode of BBC TV's Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979...
, which was first aired on 12 October 2008 (part 1) and 30 November 2008 (part 2).