Tregenna Castle
Encyclopedia
Tregenna Castle, in St Ives, Cornwall
, was built by John Stephens in the 18th century. The estate was sold in 1871 and became an hotel
, a purpose for which it is still used today.
The castle is a Grade II Listed building. It is surrounded by 72 acres (29.1 ha) of garden
s and natural woodland
, and has views along the coastline of Cornwall
.
a member of an important local family. (The architect was probably John Wood, the Younger
.) The building was extended in the 19th century. The estate was put up for sale by auction on 31 October 1871. The castle – an imposing castellated edifice, very substantially built of granite – at this time included three pairs of bedrooms on the upper floor and another bedroom on the ground floor; a school room; billiard room; WCs; and servants' quarters in the basement. The sale included the park, lodge, glen, pasture grounds, gardens, woods, plantations, and lands in hand 90 Acres, 1 Rood, 20 Perches.
(GWR) opened its St Ives branch line
on 1 June 1877 and it lease
d the Tregenna Castle as an hotel the following year, opening it on 5 August 1878. Early railway hotels had only been situated near large terminals or junctions, but this one was the first intended by the GWR as a holiday destination in its own right.
Sir Daniel Gooch
, the chairman of the GWR, stayed at the hotel a few weeks after it opened to the public. He recorded in his diary that
The GWR purchased the hotel outright in 1895.
One of the GWR's buses
, a 1.5 ton Milnes-Daimler type, was stationed at the hotel from 1913 to convey residents to the golf links at Lelant
but the service was suspended in 1916 due fuel shortages during World War I
. It was replaced in 1922 by a new bus on a Burford chassis. This operated for seven years until the arrival of a new Thornycroft
bus with a Duple body in 1929.
The Great Western Railway named two of its express locomotives after the hotel:
on 1 January 1948. Railway hotels throughout the United Kingdom
eventually became the British Transport Hotels
division but they were all privatised during the 1980s. The hotel and grounds are currently managed by the Tregenna Castle Estate.
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, was built by John Stephens in the 18th century. The estate was sold in 1871 and became an hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, a purpose for which it is still used today.
The castle is a Grade II Listed building. It is surrounded by 72 acres (29.1 ha) of garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s and natural woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, and has views along the coastline of Cornwall
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...
.
History
Tregenna Castle was built in 1774 by Samuel StephensSamuel Stephens (senior)
Samuel Stephens was a politician and MP for St. Ives between 1752 and 1754. He was responsible for the building of Tregenna Castle....
a member of an important local family. (The architect was probably John Wood, the Younger
John Wood, the Younger
John Wood, the Younger was an English architect, working principally in the city of Bath, Somerset. He began his work as an assistant for his father, the architect John Wood, the Elder...
.) The building was extended in the 19th century. The estate was put up for sale by auction on 31 October 1871. The castle – an imposing castellated edifice, very substantially built of granite – at this time included three pairs of bedrooms on the upper floor and another bedroom on the ground floor; a school room; billiard room; WCs; and servants' quarters in the basement. The sale included the park, lodge, glen, pasture grounds, gardens, woods, plantations, and lands in hand 90 Acres, 1 Rood, 20 Perches.
Railway hotel
The Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) opened its St Ives branch line
St Ives Bay Line
The St Ives Bay Line is a railway line from to in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was opened in 1877, the last new broad gauge passenger railway to be constructed in the country...
on 1 June 1877 and it lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d the Tregenna Castle as an hotel the following year, opening it on 5 August 1878. Early railway hotels had only been situated near large terminals or junctions, but this one was the first intended by the GWR as a holiday destination in its own right.
Sir Daniel Gooch
Daniel Gooch
Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
, the chairman of the GWR, stayed at the hotel a few weeks after it opened to the public. He recorded in his diary that
-
- the situation of this house is very fine; it is a castle within its own grounds of about 70 acres (28.3 ha), a great part of which are gardens and woods with pretty shaded walks ... The house feels more like a private house than a hotel; the views from it are very fine, looking over the town and bay of St Ives and along the coast as far as Trevose Head.
The GWR purchased the hotel outright in 1895.
One of the GWR's buses
GWR road motor services
The Great Western Railway road motor services operated from 1903 to 1933, both as a feeder to their train services, and as a cheaper alternative to building new railways in rural areas...
, a 1.5 ton Milnes-Daimler type, was stationed at the hotel from 1913 to convey residents to the golf links at Lelant
Lelant
Lelant is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the River Hayle estuary about 2½ miles southeast of St Ives and one mile west of Hayle....
but the service was suspended in 1916 due fuel shortages during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It was replaced in 1922 by a new bus on a Burford chassis. This operated for seven years until the arrival of a new Thornycroft
Thornycroft
Thornycroft was a United Kingdom-based vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.-History:Thornycroft started out with steam vans and lorries. John Isaac Thornycroft, the naval engineer, built his first steam lorry in 1896...
bus with a Duple body in 1929.
The Great Western Railway named two of its express locomotives after the hotel:
- Earl of Cornwall ClassGWR 3252 ClassThe Great Western Railway Duke Class 4-4-0 steam locomotives for passenger train work, built in five batches between 1895 and 1899 for express working in Devon and Cornwall. William Dean was their designer, possibly with the collaboration of his assistant, George Jackson Churchward...
number 3280 carried the name "Tregenna" from 1897 to 1930. - Castle ClassGWR 4073 ClassThe GWR 4073 Class or Castle class locomotives are a group of 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway. They were originally designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains.-History:A development of the earlier...
number 5006 was given the name "Tregenna Castle" in 1927.
Subsequently
The GWR was nationalised to become the Western Region of British RailwaysWestern Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
on 1 January 1948. Railway hotels throughout the 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...
eventually became the British Transport Hotels
British Transport Hotels
British Transport Hotels was the brand name of the hotels and catering business associated with the nationalised railway system in Great Britain from 1953 to 1983.- Organisation :...
division but they were all privatised during the 1980s. The hotel and grounds are currently managed by the Tregenna Castle Estate.