Identification and description | |||||||||
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Name | TREGREHAN | ||||||||
Location |
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Localisation | Latitude: 50.347601 Longitude: -4.7433161 National Grid Reference: SX0492053342 Map: Download a full scale map (PDF) |
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Overview | Heritage Category: Park and Garden Grade: II* List Entry Number: 1000545 Date first listed: 11-Jun-1987 |
Mid C19 gardens and pleasure grounds designed by W A Nesfield together with significant
C19 and C20 plant collections, set in C18 and C19 parkland.
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
In the late C15 part of the Tregrehan estate was acquired by Sir Richard Edgcumbe,
with whose family it remained until 1787. The larger portion of Tregrehan was purchased
in 1565 by Walter Carlyon, yeoman of St Blazey, who purchased further land there in
1574 and c 1591. Walter Carlyon died in 1616 and was succeeded by his grandson, also
Walter, who lived at Tregrehan. Walter's son, William, described in 1652 as a gentleman,
did not reside at Tregrehan but purchased property in Devon and Cornwall. William
Carlyon was succeeded in 1676 by his second son, Thomas, a lawyer, who was able to
purchase further land at Tregrehan in the late C17 and early C18 as the result of
wealth acquired through mining interests. A late C17 house built by Thomas Carlyon
was described in 1732 as a 'neat new house ... seated on rising ground from which
there is a good prospect of the sea' (Lake 1867). Following Thomas Carlyon's death,
Tregrehan was inherited by his son, Philip, who in 1738 was selling trees from the
estate (Carlyon papers); an estate plan of c 1736 (CRO) does not indicate any park
or gardens associated with the early C18 house. Philip Carlyon was succeeded by his
son, Edward Trewbody Carlyon, who was in turn succeeded by his cousin, the Rev Thomas
Carlyon of St Just, in 1768. Thomas Carlyon married his first cousin, Mary, thus consolidating
the family estates; improvements, including parkland and gardens, are shown on the
1" OS map (1810). The house was altered c 1770 by William Wood for Thomas Carlyon.
In the early C19 Thomas' son, William, began to develop the pleasure grounds with
newly introduced conifers and a yew walk; these are shown, together with parkland,
on the Tithe map of 1839 (Pring Assocs 1992).
William Carlyon died in 1841 when he was succeeded by his brother, Major-General Edward
Carlyon, who continued to develop the pleasure grounds and park, and in 1843 commissioned
plans for parterres and other improvements (Carlyon papers) from W A Nesfield (1793-1881).
Extensive alterations to the house were undertaken with the advice of George Wightwick
in the 1840s, while in 1851-2 a new lodge was built. In 1884 the estate passed to
Edward Carlyon's grandson, G R G Carlyon, known as Jovey, who had previously lived
in New Zealand; Jovey Carlyon undertook further significant development of the plant
collection in the pleasure grounds, exchanging plants with other Cornish gardens including
Carclew (qv), Caerhays Castle (qv), Heligan (qv), and Menabilly (qv). After Jovey
Carlyon's death in 1898 the family did not reside at Tregrehan again until 1935 when
E T R Carlyon, a keen plantsman, moved to England from New Zealand. Following his
death during the Second World War the estate passed to his daughter, Miss Gillian
Carlyon, who, from c 1945, undertook important work on hybridising camellias at Tregrehan.
The pleasure grounds suffered during the war and clearance and reclamation did not
begin until the mid 1970s. Miss Carlyon continued to live at Tregrehan until her death
in 1987. Today (2000) the site remains in private ownership, with the present owner
continuing the family tradition of plant collecting and propagation.
DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING Tregrehan is situated c 4km east of
St Austell and c 1km west of the hamlet of St Blazey Gate, to the north of the A390
St Austell Road. The c 45ha site comprises some 8ha of formal gardens and informal
pleasure grounds, and c 37ha of parkland. The site is bounded to the south by the
A390 St Austell Road which leads east from St Austell to Lostwithiel, while to the
west the boundary is formed by a minor road which leads north from the A390 road to
Tregrehan Mills. To the north-west the site adjoins domestic properties which abut
this minor road, and to the north the boundary is formed by a further minor road which
leads east from Tregrehan Mills to Ashcombe. To the north-east a footpath and track
leading south-east to St Blazey Gate forms the boundary of the site; the 1" OS map
of 1810 shows this path as a road. To the east the site adjoins the gardens and grounds
of properties in St Blazey Gate. An avenue and associated drive extend south from
the site beyond the A390 road towards Carlyon Bay. The site occupies a ridge of high
ground which extends south from the northern boundary to the site of the house; from
the house the ground falls to the south towards the A390 road, and west and east to
small streams which flow in valleys near the west and east boundaries of the site.
There are extensive views south, west, and east from the house across the park, those
to the south extending to Carlyon Bay. To the east, the spire of the mid C19 church
at St Blazey Gate acts as an eyecatcher from the pleasure grounds.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES Tregrehan is approached from the A390 St Austell Road to
the south at a point c 800m south-west of St Blazey Gate. The entrance comprises a
series of square-section granite piers surmounted by pyramid caps which are linked
by low granite quadrant walls; these walls formerly supported iron railings. The quadrant
walls flank a pair of tall, square-section granite piers surmounted by ball finials
which adjoin the drive. Within the site and immediately to the north-east of the entrance
stands a two-storey Tudor-gothic stone lodge (listed grade II); this was erected c
1853 to the design of Colling (Pring Assocs 1992). The tarmac drive extends c 200m
north-west of the entrance through an avenue of late C19 limes. Ascending gently through
the park, the drive sweeps north-west and north-east before turning east for c 120m
to pass through groups of rhododendrons and evergreen shrubs to reach the forecourt
below the west facade of the house. The gravelled forecourt is entered through a pair
of C20 timber gates supported by a pair of square-section granite piers surmounted
by heraldic lions, and is enclosed to the west by granite walls and balustrades. To
the north and south the forecourt is enclosed by yew hedges, while a central quatrefoil-shaped
lawn is ornamented with a carved stone lion couchant. The carriage turn is surrounded
to the west, south, and north by panels of lawn, while stone steps ascend to the north
to reach the service quarters and stables to the north-west of the house, and a gate
leads south to the formal garden terraces. The forecourt was laid out to a design
prepared by W A Nesfield for Edward Carlyon in 1843 (Carlyon papers); the south drive
probably formed part of Nesfield's scheme. The present south drive replaced an earlier
approach from the south which comprised an avenue leading north through the park which
turned sharply east and north to approach the house on the axis of the south facade.
This approach is shown on the 1736 estate plan but had been removed and replaced by
a drive from the south-east by 1810 (OS); the south-east drive is also shown on the
Tithe map (1839), but had in turn been removed by 1880 (OS).
A further drive leads north from the south drive c 50m west of the house. This drive
is today (2000) a track which leads c 370m north to the minor road which forms the
northern boundary of the site. An approach from the north is shown on the 1736 estate
plan, the 1" OS map (1810), and the Tithe map (1839); this drive was realigned in
the mid C19 when the public road to the north of the pleasure grounds was closed.
An approach from the minor road forming the western boundary of the site is shown
on the OS map of 1810 and the Tithe map of 1839 but had been removed by 1880 (OS),
although traces survive as a track today (2000).
To the south of the A390 St Austell Road and opposite the principal entrance to Tregrehan,
a drive leads c 950m south-east and south to Carlyon Bay and Crinnis. The northern
375m of this drive survives as a footpath passing through the remains of a late C19
avenue of Wellingtonia and Scots pines; the southern 575m to the south of Par Moor
Road is today (2000) a public road which passes through an early C20 avenue of cypresses.
This drive is terminated to the south by a mid C19 gothic stone arch flanked by turrets
which carries the Penzance to Exeter railway line over the road. The extension of
the south drive was formed in the mid or late C19 to provide access to the Carlyons'
mines at Crinnis (Pring Assocs 1992).
PRINCIPAL BUILDING Tregrehan (listed grade II) stands on a spur of high ground from
which the land drops to the west, south, and east. The house comprises two storeys
and is constructed in ashlar under hipped and Mansard slate roofs. The west or entrance
facade comprises a recessed central section with an off-centre, single-storey rusticated
stone porch flanked to the north by a pedimented pavilion lit by a ground-floor Venetian
window, and to the south by a plainer pavilion. The south or garden facade has a balustraded
parapet, projecting single bays to east and west, and a centrally placed door flanked
by paired Ionic columns supporting a simple entablature. The east facade is of irregular
plan with a projecting wing to the north-east lit by a first-floor Venetian window;
an elaborate pedimented porch adjacent to this wing is said to be the front door to
the late C17 house (The Field 1985).
Tregrehan originated as a double-pile house constructed in 1680 by Thomas Carlyon.
This building was altered and extended to the south by William Wood who worked for
another Thomas Carlyon in the 1770s, and further major alterations were made c 1845
by George Wightwick. The mid C19 additions included a new porch on the west facade
and a colonnade of paired Ionic columns linking a pair of single-storey pavilions
at the east and west ends of the south facade overlooking the formal terraced garden.
A large service wing was built to the north of the house. These alterations are shown
in an engraving published in 1846 (Twycross). The porch was reduced and the colonnade
removed in the 1970s; the mid C19 service wing was also demolished at this time.
GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The formal terraced gardens are situated to the south
of the house, with further informal pleasure grounds extending to the east.
The south terrace is retained to the south, east, and west by mid C19 stone walls
with saddle copings; to the south a semicircular bastion projects into the park. The
urns formerly ornamented the mid C19 south parterre. The bastion contains a circular
stone-kerbed pool (dry, 2000) and a C19 cast-iron fountain of simple tazza form. A
stone-flagged terrace extends below the south facade of the house on the site of the
mid C19 colonnade. Centrally placed stone steps descend to a gravelled walk which
extends west to reach the gate leading north to the forecourt and east to a gate which
leads north to the pleasure grounds. Further centrally placed stone steps descend
a grass bank to a lower grass terrace which encloses an approximately rectangular
sunken lawn, in the centre of which is a late C20 rectangular swimming pool. The south
terrace was designed by W A Nesfield in 1843 as part of a scheme of improvement for
Edward Carlyon. As laid out the terrace comprised a symmetrical broderie box-edged
parterre set out on a gravelled sunken area; this was surrounded by a gravel walk
with a further gravel walk below the south facade of the house. An aerial photograph
of 1938 shows the parterre to correspond closely to Nesfield's plan (Carlyon papers).
The parterre was removed and the scheme simplified in the 1970s, at which time the
swimming pool was constructed. A lawn at the south-east corner of the house shown
on Nesfield's plan with an arrangement of circular beds does not survive (2000).
A simple gate in the east wall of the south terrace leads to a formal grass walk which
passes through an avenue of alternate ilex oaks and Irish yews underplanted with mid
and late C20 camellias for c 80m east to a rondpoint. There is a series of glimpsed
views south from the west Yew Walk across the park to the sea. The rondpoint comprises
a circular bed partly edged with a low box hedge which has been used as a dogs' cemetery
by the Carlyon family. There are views east from the rondpoint towards St Blazey Gate.
From the rondpoint a similar avenue of Irish yews and a gravel walk extend north for
c 100m to steps which ascend west to the walled garden, and further steps which descend
east to the pinetum. To the north of the western Yew Walk is an area planted with
exotic specimen trees and shrubs, while below the east facade early C20 stone steps
ascend from a sunken area to a formal gravel walk which extends c 100m east through
an area of lawns planted with Chusan palms and specimen trees and shrubs. A cross-walk
leads north from a semicircular stone-walled and flagged recess to a flight of stone
steps which ascends to a door in the centre of the south wall of the walled garden.
To the east of this walk, and to the west of the northern Yew Walk, is a mid or late
C20 tennis court. The pleasure grounds to the east of the house were developed in
the mid and late C19, possibly as part of Nesfield's scheme of improvements. The northern
Yew Walk was adapted from an existing formal feature which is shown on the Tithe map
(1839), while the eastern Yew Walk is shown on Nesfield's plan (1843) as the 'Temple
Walk'. This area is described as the 'Shrubbery Walk' on the 1839 Tithe map. The ornamental
areas to the east of the house are shown in a series of 1930s photographs (Pring Assocs
1992), and were developed in the mid and late C19 from an area described on the Tithe
map (1839) as the 'Pheasantry'.
The east-facing slope below the northern Yew Walk is laid out in two parallel terraces
running from north to south and linked by sloping paths. The slope is planted with
an extensive collection of mid and late C19 conifers and specimen shrubs including
rhododendrons. The walks descend to an area of level lawn planted with mature specimen
trees and late C20 ornamental shrubs which border a stream, the White Water. The west-facing
slope to the east of the stream which is reached by two simple late C20 bridges has
been developed by the present owner in the late C20 with a collection of South American
and New Zealand trees and shrubs.
The pinetum on the east-facing slope below the Yew Walk was developed by Jovey Carlyon
in the late C19, who built on planting initially made by Edward Carlyon in the mid
C19. The Tithe map (1839) shows this area to have comprised an orchard which was enclosed
to the north, east, and west by plantations.
PARK The park lies principally on sloping ground to the south-west, south, and south-east
of the house, and remains pasture with scattered specimen trees and conifers. To the
north-west the park is enclosed by a belt of woodland which includes an area cultivated
in the late C19 as orchard (OS 1880); traces of this planting survive today (2000).
Further woodland is planted on the west-facing slope c 300m west of the house, and
on level ground adjacent to a stream which flows parallel to the western boundary
of the site. Ornamental and experimental planting of trees and shrubs raised from
seed collected by the present owner has taken place in the western shelter belt. The
western plantation returns east along the southern boundary screening the A390 road
from the park. To the east of the drive the park is enclosed to the north by the formal
gardens and pleasure grounds, and extends east of the White Water stream, ascending
the west-facing slope below St Blazey church and Bluegate farm. A further area of
park lies to the north of the house and gardens, and comprises pasture crossed by
the former north drive; this area was developed from field enclosures in the mid C19
(OS 1880).
The estate survey of 1736 shows no park associated with Tregrehan, but in 1788 the
house was described as standing on 'a pleasant airy eminence, richly planted' (Shaw
1788), perhaps indicating that the park was established in the mid or late C18 (Pring
Assocs 1992). The 1" OS (1810) and the Tithe map (1839) both show a disposition of
park and plantations which relates closely to that surviving today (2000), while the
ornamental planting within the park relates to that shown on the late C19 OS map (1880).
KITCHEN GARDEN The kitchen garden is situated c 50m north-east of the house, to the
north and west of the pleasure grounds and to the east of the stable court. The garden
is approximately square on plan and is enclosed by stone-coped brick walls c 3m high,
with arched doors set at the north-east and north-west corners, and in the centre
of the south wall. The doorway to the south is closed by an ornamental C19 wrought-iron
gate which allows a reciprocal vista from the kitchen garden to the pleasure grounds.
The garden is laid out with cruciform gravel walks, the intersection being marked
by a circular stone-kerbed pool in which is set a mid C19 fountain comprising entwined
dolphins set on a rocky base which support a shell basin and putto on their raised
tails; the fountain is attributed to Nesfield (Pring Assocs 1992). The walk to the
south of the fountain is edged with low box hedges and rose beds, while the four quarters
of the garden are laid to lawn planted with specimen trees and shrubs. A range of
mid C19 timber-framed glasshouses of ornamental design stands against the inner face
of the north wall of the garden. The central house, a vinery, contains a circular
stone-kerbed bed planted with a specimen tree fern; this may have originated as a
pool. This house is adjoined to east and west by open loggias planted with climbers
and specimen shrubs, beyond which on each side is a further lean-to glasshouse planted
with temperate subjects. To the south of the glasshouses is a gravel walk flanked
by specimen rhododendrons and other shrubs. To the north of the glasshouses and outside
the walled garden is a range of bothies and further glasshouses; this area is today
used for nursery propagation.
The kitchen garden walls were constructed in 1844 (date stone) for Edward Carlyon,
while the range of glasshouses was built in 1846. The mid C19 walled garden replaced
a smaller walled garden which is shown on the Tithe map (1839) in a location slightly
to the south of the present garden, while the present cruciform walks and fountain
are recorded on the 1880 OS map. The walled garden, glasshouses, and fountain may
have formed part of Nesfield's 1840s scheme of improvement for Edward Carlyon.
REFERENCES
S Shaw, A Tour to the West of England (1788) C S Gilbert, Historical Survey of Cornwall
ii, (1820), p 872 E Twycross, The Mansions of England ... Cornwall (1846), p 47 Lake's
Parochial History of Cornwall i, (1867), p 60 Royal Botanic Gardens, Bulletin of Miscellaneous
Information (1916), p xxv Gardeners' Chronicle, ii (1939), p 120 N Pevsner and E Radcliffe,
The Buildings of England: Cornwall (2nd edn 1970), p 224 The Field, (24 August 1985),
pp 51-2 Tregrehan: A Guide, guidebook, (Tregrehan 1985) Tregrehan Garden, guidebook,
(Tregrehan 1991) Tregrehan, A Restoration/Management Plan, (G R Pring Associates 1992)
Maps W Doidge, A Plan of the land belonging to the Honble Richard Edgcumbe lying in
Tregrehan ..., 1736 (DD/ME 2367), (Cornwall Record Office) W Hole and A Law, A Map
or Plan of the Manor of Tregrehan, 1775(6 (DD/ME 2368/1(4), (Cornwall Record Office)
Tithe map for St Blazey parish, 1839 (Cornwall Record Office) W A Nesfield, Plans
for the forecourt and parterre terrace, 1843 (private collection)
OS Old Series 1" to 1 mile, published 1810 OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published
1881 2nd edition published 1906 OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1880
Archival items Carlyon family archive including garden and estate accounts, correspondence,
nursery accounts (DD/CN), (Cornwall Record Office) The Carlyon papers, including diaries
and planting records, are held in a private collection. Aerial photographs of Tregrehan
from the south-west, 1938 (reproduced in Pring Assocs 1992) Photographs of the parterre
terrace, forecourt, pleasure grounds and walled garden, 1930s (reproduced in Pring
Assocs 1992)
Description written: November 2000 Amended: January 2001 Register Inspector: JML Edited:
October 2001
This garden or other land is registered under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 within the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens by Historic England for its special historic interest.