Cotehele | |
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Native name Kosheyl (Cornish) | |
![]() Courtyard of Cotehele House | |
Type | Country house |
Location | Calstock |
Coordinates | 50°29′45″N4°13′33″W / 50.4959°N 4.2257°W |
OS grid reference | SX4224068618 |
Area | Cornwall |
Architectural style(s) | Medieval & Tudor |
Owner | National Trust |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Cotehele House |
Designated | 21 July 1951 |
Reference no. | 1140255 |
Official name | Cotehele |
Designated | 11 June 1987 |
Reference no. | 1000648 |
Cotehele (Cornish : Kosheyl) [1] is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks of the River Tamar that has been little changed over five centuries. It was built by the Edgecumbe family in 1458 after the original Manor House was pulled down. Sir Richard Edgecumbe came into the property after fighting for Henry Tudor in the Battle of Bosworth. He was gifted with money and the original Manor House and estate and then proceeded to build Cotehele.
The house was acquired by William Edgcumbe through his marriage to Hilaria, heiress of Cotehele. [2] The house is one of the least altered of the Tudor houses in the United Kingdom. The outbuildings include a stone dovecote in a remarkable state of preservation. [3]
For centuries a second home of the Edgcumbe family, hosting a royal visit from King George III in 1788, [2] it was the first property to be accepted by the Treasury in payment of death duty. The house and estate are now under the care of the National Trust. [4] Notable contents include the Cotehele cupboard [5] [6] and the Cotehele clock. The house contains many tapestries that came, along with much of the furniture, from Mount Edgcumbe House. Regrettably, some have had pieces cut out to fit them in their new locations. [7]
The house is a Grade I listed building, having been so designated on 21 July 1951. The house was probably founded around 1300 and various alterations were made in the early fifteenth century. Sir Richard Edgcumbe seems to have been involved in the first phase of development from 1486 to 1489, with his son Sir Piers Edgcumbe taking over for the second phase, from 1489 to 1520. [8]
The grounds stretch down to a quay on the River Tamar where there is an outpost of the National Maritime Museum. There are a number of formal gardens and a richly planted area in the valley; features include a medieval dovecote, a stewpond, a Victorian summerhouse and the eighteenth century Prospect Tower. [4] The gardens and parkland are listed as Grade II* on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. [9] The south west side of the estate is bordered by the Morden stream which joins the Tamar at the quay. The estate mill is fed by this stream. The mill was used to grind grain bought in Plymouth and brought up river on the barge Myrtle, and also to drive a sawmill and a generator for electricity. The Grade II listed mill [10] has been restored to working order, producing flour for use in the restaurant as well as for sale. [11]
In 2008 a 'Mother Orchard' of over 250 apple trees, mainly of West-country varieties, was planted. The 8 acre orchard site is divided into eating, culinary and cider varieties. [12]
In Cotehele, on the west side of Hall Court are the Vicarage and the chapel, the chapel is connected to the main building via a small passageway leading to the dining room. The patron saints are St. Katharine and St. Anne. The chapel is among the oldest rooms in the house, alongside the Great Hall. In the chapel, there is a very rare and the original clock, still in operation today, it dates back to the Tudor period.
In the grounds of Cotehele, directly East of the House close to the River Tamar, lies a peaceful, basic chapel. inside there are pews going around the walls, two minister's benches and a very ornate table. the patron saints of the chapel are St George and St Thomas Becket. The chapel was built by Sir Richard Edgcumbe (died 1489) between 1485 and 1489 as a thanksgiving for his escape from forces loyal to Richard III in 1483. [13]
The Edgcumbe Chapel is located in the East of the Northern aisle at St. Andrew's Church Calstock, it contains two monuments of the late 17th- century: to Piers Edgcumbe (1666) and to Jemima, Countess of Sandwich (1674). it is no longer a chapel, but used by ministers to store religious items.
Cotehele was used in the filming of Trevor Nunn's 1996 film adaptation of Twelfth Night . it was used for scenes taking place in the quayside tavern and the inside of Orsino's castle. [14]
The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape, and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
Calstock is a civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar 6 miles (9.7 km) south west of Tavistock and 10 miles (16 km) north of Plymouth.
Mount Edgcumbe House is a stately home in south-east Cornwall and is a Grade II listed building, whilst its gardens and parkland are listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
Gunnislake is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.
Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is a grade I listed country park in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The 885 acres (3.58 km2) country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar. The park has been famous since the 18th century, when the Edgcumbe family created formal gardens, temples, follies and woodlands around the Tudor house. Specimen trees, such as Sequoiadendron giganteum, stand against copses which shelter a herd of wild fallow deer. The South West Coast Path runs through the park for nine miles (14 km) along the coastline.
Lytes Cary is a manor house with associated chapel and gardens near Charlton Mackrell and Somerton in Somerset, England. The property, owned by the National Trust, has parts dating to the 14th century, with other sections dating to the 15th, 16th, 18th, and 20th centuries. "Yet all parts blend to perfection with one another and with the gentle sunny landscape that surrounds them," comments Nikolaus Pevsner. The House is listed as Grade I by English Heritage.
St Dominic is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) east of Callington and five miles (8 km) north of Saltash.
Sir Richard Edgcumbe was an English politician.
Sir Richard Edgcumbe was an English courtier and politician.
Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele in the parish of Calstock in Cornwall, was an English courtier and Member of Parliament.
The Cotehele clock is situated at Cotehele House, Calstock, Cornwall. It is the earliest turret clock in the United Kingdom still working in an unaltered state and in its original position. It was probably installed between 1493 and 1521.
Norris Green is a village in Cornwall, England, UK. It was enlarged from a farming hamlet so that it now adjoins the neighbouring village of Higher Metherell. Both settlements are within the civil parish of Calstock which borders the River Tamar, the county boundary with Devon in south-east Cornwall.
Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe and of Cotehele in the parish of Calstock, both in Cornwall, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1586 and 1629.
Milton Abbot is a village, parish, and former manor in Devon, 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Tavistock, Devon, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Launceston, Cornwall.
Harewood House was an ancient manor house, built originally by the Saxons, in Cornwall, England. Harewood Estate is surrounded by old mine workings, so the house faces towards Morwellham Quay.
A Tamar barge is a masted sailing vessel, designed for carrying cargo along the River Tamar and the south coast of Cornwall.
Sir Peter Edgecumbe of Cotehele, Cornwall was an English courtier, sheriff and Member of Parliament.
Prospect Tower is a folly on the Cotehele Estate. It has three sides and is 60ft high. When the National Trust was given the Cotehele Estate in 1947 the Trust renovated the tower and constructed a wooden spiral staircase inside, to allow visitors. The Tower was last renovated in 2018 and is still open to the public.
Southcott is a surname of an ancient and prominent family from the English counties of Devon and Cornwall.