Erisey () was a manor on the

Lizard Peninsula The Lizard () is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Extreme points of the United Kingdom, southernmost point of the Great Britain, British mainland is near Lizard Point, Cornwall, Lizard Point at SW 701115; The ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, UK and is the surname of the family that built the house. The manor was originally in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Grade, and since 1934, Grade-Ruan. The

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

was built by Richard Erisey in the 17th century and in the 18th-century was owned by the Boscawan family of

Tregothnan Tregothnan is a country house and estate near the village of St Michael Penkivel, southeast of Truro, Cornwall, England, which has for many centuries been a possession of the Boscawens. Geography Location Tregothnan is located on a hill overl ...

Geography

Erisey is named as Erisey Barton on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

() and is on the Lizard Peninsula, at the southern end of

Goonhilly Downs Goonhilly Downs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that forms a raised plateau in the central western area of the The Lizard, Lizard peninsula in southern Cornwall, England. It is one of 229 English national nature reserves designat ...

and to the east of the A3083

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

Lizard (village) Lizard (), also known as The Lizard, The Lizard Town, or The Lizard Village, is a village on The Lizard, the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated about south of Helston, and is mainland Great Britain, Britai ...

road.

History

The Erisey family can be traced back to the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

(1239–1307). James Erisey (died 1522) was the

Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriff ...

in 1513 and there is a brass memorial recording his death and that of his wife, Margaret in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. Another James Erisey was born at Erisey and was a

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

with

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

. The house was built in the shape of a letter E by Richard Erisey in 1620. John Erisey added gardens before he died in about 1671 and the last male descendant, Richard, died in 1722.

Admiral Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He is known principally for his various naval commands during the 18th century and the engagements that he won, including the sie ...

(1711–1761) of

purchased the property from the co-heiresses of the Erisey family sometime in the middle of the 18th century. The present building was probably built in the late 18th or early 19th-century.

Oliver Rackham Oliver Rackham (17 October 1939 – 12 February 2015) was an academic at the University of Cambridge who studied the ecology, management and development of the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture. His books inc ...

, who studied the history and development of the countryside considered the pattern of farms and fields on the Lizard to be largely complete by the 14th century. He considered the Erisey estate to be an example of ″in-field and out-field system″ with small, highly cultivated fields near the house surrounded by the moorland of the manor, and separated from the wider moorland by a great outer wall. In 1880 the estate was owned by

Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth (18 March 1819 – 6 November 1889), was a Horse breeding, breeder of Horse racing, race horses and the winner of many British Classic Races, classic races. Personal life His parents were the Reverend Th ...

, occupied by a Mr James James and consisted of 177 acres of arable and pasture land, dwelling house and buildings. A ''To Let'' notice for a new tenant was published in

The Cornishman The Cornishman may refer to: * The Cornishman (newspaper), a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall * The Cornishman (train), a British express passenger train * Cornishman {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornishman, The ...

in July 1880.

References

{{reflist Country houses in Cornwall Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall Houses completed in 1620 Lizard Peninsula Grade II listed farmhouses in England