Tregothnan is a country house and estate near the village of

St Michael Penkivel St Michael Penkivel (), sometimes spelt ''St Michael Penkevil'', is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the valley of the River Fal about three miles (5 km) southeast of Truro. The population at the 2 ...

, southeast of

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

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, ...

, England, which has for many centuries been a possession of the Boscawens.

Geography

Location

Tregothnan is located on a hill overlooking an inlet of the

Truro River The Truro River () is a river in the city of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK. It is the product of the convergence of the two rivers named Kenwyn and Allen which run under the city: the Truro River (named after the city) flows into the River ...

. It includes many varied grounds and wooded areas beyond the immediate environs of the house.

History

The house and estate is the historic seat of the Boscawen family, Viscounts Falmouth. Tregothnan was acquired in 1334 (or 1335) by John de Boscawen when he married the heiress, Joan de Tregothnan. The medieval house then had a courtyard plan with a prominent gate-tower. The original medieval house was ransacked in the 17th century during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. The new house was built after 1650. This building was visited and described by

Celia Fiennes Celia Fiennes (7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741) was an English traveller and writer. She explored England on horseback at a time when travel for its own sake was unusual, especially for women. Early life Born at Newton Tony, Wiltshire,"June 7t ...

, a cousin of Hugh Boscawen, the builder. In the 18th century, the house was the home of Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, Privy Council (United Kingdom), 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 ...

. In 1818, the house was enlarged by William Wilkins for the fourth Viscount Falmouth and in 1845–48

Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...

rebuilt it for the second Earl of Falmouth. In 1872 the land holdings of Viscount Falmouth, of

Mereworth Castle Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely. History Originally the site of a fort ...

, Maidstone, Kent, were listed in the top ten land holdings in Cornwall, with an estate of , 3.41% of the total area of Cornwall. Tregothnan is still managed by the Boscawen family today.

Description

The house is mainly the work of William Wilkins (the rebuilding of 1816–18) and Lewis Vulliamy (the enlargement of 1845–48). Wilkins adopted an East Anglian Tudor Gothic style of great picturesqueness and the project retained parts of the medieval house; however Vulliamy's enlargement involved the removal of what remained of the medieval house.

Gardens

Tregothnan is famous for its large private

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

and

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

, which are not open to the public. Guided visits to the garden may be arranged. A

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

plantation was started on the grounds in 1999. Tregothnan was home to the first outdoor ''

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...

s'' in the UK, around 1800. The first commercial tea was developed from ''

Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (unrelated to ''Me ...

'', the "Chinese tea plant", in 2001. The first 'English tea' was then sold in November 2005 to

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. The Tregothnan Estate plans on marketing a brand-named

tea house A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...

franchise called Festival of Tea, to be opened as far afield as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The first tea plants were established in the

Kitchen Garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

in 1999 although the conditions there were not suitable for expansion. Research was undertaken by Jonathon Jones, MD of Trading and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, on-site and in every tea region of the world with the support of a Nuffield

Scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. Over 20,000 additional tea bushes are planted annually between April and October. The Tregothnan

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

is the result of the deep sea water

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

that bisects the tea gardens, six miles inland and away from

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

wind exposure. Global media interest in the project to create the most British tea in history has helped develop the charity open weekend of the gardens into possibly the largest of its kind in the world. There are custom-made bee hives among ''

Leptospermum ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...

'' ("Manuka") bushes", producing

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

with measurable

methylglyoxal Methylglyoxal (MGO) is the organic compound with the formula CH3C(O)CHO. It is a reduced derivative of pyruvic acid. It is a reactive compound that is implicated in the biology of diabetes. Methylglyoxal is produced industrially by degradation ...

content.Tregothnan first grew ''Leptospermum'' in the botanical collection in the 1880s and may have helped introduce the genus to the UK in its

Wardian Case The Wardian case was an early type of terrarium, a sealed protective container for plants. It found great use in the 19th century in protecting foreign plants imported to Europe from overseas, the great majority of which had previously died from ...

, thought to be the only surviving example of a Wardian Case in the World. The extensive garden is usually open for a weekend in the spring and has become a major fundraising event for charities.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://tregothnan.co.uk Country houses in Cornwall Gardens in Cornwall Grade I listed buildings in Cornwall Grade I listed houses Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Cornwall Lewis Vulliamy buildings Boscawen family