Mount Edgcumbe House
Encyclopedia
Stately home
A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...
in south-east 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...
. It is a Grade II listed building and the gardens are listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...
.
It is situated within Mount Edgcumbe Country Park
Mount Edgcumbe Country Park
Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is one of four designated Country Parks in Cornwall. It is situated on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar....
, in the parish of Maker
Maker
Maker is a village between Cawsand and Rame Head, situated on the Rame Peninsula, in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The name means a ruin in Cornish, but another Celtic name is Egloshayle, which means, the church on the estuary, a very apt description of the church's location.The village and its...
on the Rame Peninsula
Rame Peninsula
The Rame Peninsula is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. The peninsula is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north...
, overlooking Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a bay at Plymouth in England.Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point on Devon, a distance of about 3 nautical miles . Its northern limit is Plymouth Hoe giving a north-south distance of nearly 3 nautical miles...
. The main entrance to the park is in the village of Cremyll
Cremyll
Cremyll is a coastal village in south-east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately one mile west of Plymouth.Cremyll is on the Rame Peninsula facing Plymouth Sound. The Cremyll Ferry carries foot passengers and cyclists from Cremyll to Plymouth...
. The house was formerly the seat of the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe
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. The Edgcumbe family descends from Sir Piers Edgcumbe of Cotehele in Cornwall, who acquired the Mount Edgcumbe estate near Plymouth through marriage in the early 16th...
.
The house was built between 1547 and 1553. It was gutted by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
bombs in 1943, and restored from 1958 onwards by the 6th Earl. In 1971, the 7th Earl sold the house and park to Cornwall County Council and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
City Council, and it has been open to the public since 1988. Its interiors have been restored to 18th century styles. It is currently run by Ian Berry, the park manager, and Nicholas Butcher, the Head ranger, assisted by Gary Fry and Craig Penwill.
The estate is jointly owned by Cornwall County Council and Plymouth City Council and is one of the region's most popular historic tourist destinations. It is open daily all year round to visitors from 8 am to dusk, and the park houses the National Camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
Collection.
The House and Earl's Garden are only open to visitors during the summer from the beginning of April until the end of September. The country park, on the Rame Peninsula
Rame Peninsula
The Rame Peninsula is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. The peninsula is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north...
, is the earliest landscaped park in Cornwall and is very popular with walkers. One can walk from the Cremyll Ferry
Cremyll Ferry
The Cremyll ferry runs across the River Tamar from Admirals Hard in Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devon to Cremyll in Cornwall. It is presently operated by Tamar Cruising, and runs approximately every 30 minutes, with a 10 minute crossing time.-History:...
http://www.tamarcruising.com/ferrytt.htm through the estate to the villages of Kingsand
Kingsand
Kingsand and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. The villages are situated on the Rame Peninsula and in the parish of Maker-with-Rame....
and Cawsand.
A classic car show is held annually in the park grounds, hosted by the Friends of Mount Edgcumbe http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/mefriends, and a variety of other events, which include art classes with Louise Courtnell, theatre performances and a forestry school, are also held there.
Historical features of interest
Barn Pool, a sheltered deep water anchorage used by Vikings in 997. Offshore is the shipwreck Catharina von Flensburg, 1786.Barrow, c.1200 BC - a Bronze Age burial mound, 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 signaling 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.
Cremyll Ferry http://www.tamarcruising.com/ferrytt.htm, c.1204 - a major ferry crossing between Devon and Cornwall since Medieval times. The ferry still operates a foot passenger service between Cremyll and Plymouth
The Deer Wall, c.1695 - a stone wall with outer ditch protecting the Amphitheatre from deer, now incomplete.
Folly, c 1747 - an artificial ruin which replaced a navigation obelisk. The folly was built from medieval stone from the churches of St. George and St. Lawrence, Stonehouse.
Formal Gardens, c.1750 to 1820 - Italian, English and French style gardens. More additions to the grounds include recently the New Zealand and American gardens(1989)and Jubilee Gardens (2003).
Maker Church, first mentioned in 1186, enlarged in the 15th century. Maker is the family church of the Edgcumbe family.
Milton's Temple, c1755 - a circular Ionic temple, with a plaque inscribed with lines from the poem Paradise Lost, "overhead up grew, Insuperable heights of loftiest shade....." John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, (1608–1674).
The Orangery, situated in the Italian Garden the Orangery is thought to have been built as early as 1760. The building is now a fully licensed restaurant http://www.flyingaubergine.com/contracr_cat_orangrey.htm.
Stables c.1850 - The stables, dairy, smithy, sawmill and stores, all essential to the running of the estate. (This area, recently developed is now open to visitors).
Deer on Rame Peninsula, In 1515 Sir Piers Edgcumbe was given permission by King Henry VIII to empark deer. Their descendents roam freely on the Peninsula to this day.