Mount Edgcumbe House: A stately home in south-east Cornwall

Mount Edgcumbe House: A stately home in south-east Cornwall

Photo: JThomas / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 2.0 , resized

Once a grand estate, Mount Edgcumbe is now a popular historic tourist attraction and park. Explore its history from the Viking era to its restoration after World War II.

Mount Edgcumbe House is a Grade II listed building, while its gardens and parkland are Grade I listed. It is located in the parish of Maker, on the Rame Peninsula in Cornwall, England. The gardens include Barn Pool, a sheltered deep water anchorage used by the Vikings in 997. The property passed through several hands before Sir Richard Edgcumbe built the original house between 1547 and 1553, which inspired architect Robert Smythson’s Wollaton Hall.

Mount Edgcumbe served as the seat of the Edgcumbe family for generations. In 1742, one of its members was raised to the peerage as Baron Edgcumbe. His 2nd son, George, was advanced to the rank of Earl in 1789. But the estate's glory days were interrupted when German bombs gutted the house in 1941 during World War II. The restoration process began in 1958 at the 6th Earl’s instigation, and the house was opened to the public in 1988. The 7th Earl sold the estate to Cornwall County Council and Plymouth City Council in 1971.

Today, Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is one of South East Cornwall's most popular historic tourist attractions. One can walk from the Cremyll Ferry through the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park to the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. The park includes the National Camellia Collection, and a classic car show is held annually in the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

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Written by Nicolo Ciampini

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