Mount Edgcumbe House facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mount Edgcumbe House
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name: Mount Edgcumbe House
Designated	21 July 1951
Reference no.	1160959
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Illustrated in Morris's County Seats, 1869

Mount Edgcumbe House is a beautiful old country house in south-east Cornwall. It's officially a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historic place. Its amazing gardens and parkland are even more special, listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

The Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is located on the Rame Peninsula. It looks out over Plymouth Sound. You can find its main entrance in the village of Cremyll.

This house was the main home for the Edgcumbe family for a very long time, going all the way back to Tudor times. Many family members were MPs (people who represent their area in government). Later, Richard Edgcumbe became a Baron in 1742. His son, George, was made an Earl in 1789.

History of Mount Edgcumbe House

The Edgcumbe family crest

Sir Richard Edgcumbe built the first house between 1547 and 1553. Some people say it even inspired the design of another famous house called Wollaton Hall.

Sadly, during World War II, German bombs badly damaged the house in 1941. It was almost completely destroyed inside. The good news is that restoration work began in 1958. This was started by the 6th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe.

In 1971, the 7th Earl sold the estate. It was bought by Cornwall County Council and Plymouth City Council. Since 1988, Mount Edgcumbe House has been open to everyone! The inside of the house has been restored to look like it did in the 1700s.

Mount Edgcumbe Country Park Today

Today, the Mount Edgcumbe House estate is still owned by both Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council. It's one of the most popular historic places to visit in South East Cornwall.

The Country Park is the oldest designed landscape in Cornwall. It's a fantastic place for walkers. You can walk from the Cremyll Ferry all the way through the park to the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. The park is open every day, all year round, from 8 AM until it gets dark. It's also home to the National Camellia Collection, which is a special collection of beautiful camellia flowers.

Many fun events happen in the park. There's an annual classic car show, hosted by the Friends of Mount Edgcumbe. You can also find art classes, theatre shows, and even a forestry school here.

While the park is open all year, the House itself and the Earl's Garden are only open during the summer months. This is usually from the beginning of April until the end of September.

In 1986, Mount Edgcumbe was the location for the "Westcounty Jamboree." This was a huge scout camp for scouts from Devon and Cornwall, and it also welcomed international guests.

Exploring Historical Features at Mount Edgcumbe

The gardens and park at Mount Edgcumbe have many interesting historical features. Here are some of them:

Barn Pool: A Viking Anchorage

Barn Pool is a calm, deep water area. Vikings used it as a safe place to anchor their ships way back in 997. There's also a shipwreck offshore, the Catharina von Flensburg, which sank in 1786.

Bronze Age Barrow and Prospect Mound

A Barrow is an ancient burial mound from the Bronze Age, around 1200 BC. Later, in the 1700s, it was used as a "Prospect Mound." A prospect mound is a small, usually cone-shaped hill built in a garden or park. It gives you a great view over the whole area.

Blockhouse: A Tudor Fort

The Blockhouse was built around 1545. It's a small fort located right on the shoreline. King Henry VIII had it built to protect the entrance to the River Tamar and the nearby town of Stonehouse.

Coastguard Station at Rame

The Coastguard Station at Rame was first a Lloyds Signal Station. Ships would use flags during the day and lights at night to send messages to the station. In 1905, it became a radio station. Around 1925, it was taken over by the Coastguards. Today, it's run by Coastwatch.

Cremyll Ferry: An Ancient Crossing

The Cremyll Ferry has been operating since about 1204! It was a very important way to cross between Devon and Cornwall in medieval times. The ferry still runs today, carrying people on foot between Cremyll and Plymouth.

The Deer Wall: Protecting the Gardens

The Deer Wall was built around 1695. It's a stone wall with a ditch outside it. Its purpose was to protect the gardens from deer. Today, parts of the wall are missing.

Deer on the Rame Peninsula

In 1515, King Henry VIII gave Sir Piers Edgcumbe permission to keep deer in the park. The descendants of those deer still roam freely all over the Rame Peninsula today.

The Folly: An Artificial Ruin

The Folly was built around 1747. It's an artificial ruin, meaning it was built to look like an old, broken-down building. It replaced an old navigation tower. The stones used to build the folly came from the ruined medieval churches of St George and St Lawrence in Stonehouse.

Formal Gardens: Styles from Around the World

The Formal Gardens were created between 1750 and 1820. They feature different styles, including Italian, English, and French designs. More recently, new gardens have been added, like the New Zealand and American gardens (in 1989) and the Jubilee Gardens (in 2003).

St Mary's and St Julian's Church

St Mary's and St Julian's Church was first mentioned in 1186. It was made bigger in the 1400s. It includes the Edgcumbe Chapel, which is connected to the Edgcumbe family. The current Earl of Mount Edgcumbe still has a special role in the church.

Milton's Temple: A Place for Poetry

Milton's Temple was built around 1755. It's a round temple with a special plaque. The plaque has lines from the famous poem Paradise Lost by John Milton.

The Orangery: A Restaurant Today

The Orangery is located in the Italian Garden. It's believed to have been built as early as 1760. This building is now a restaurant with a license to serve food and drinks.

The Stables: A Glimpse into Estate Life

The Stables were built around 1850. This area also included the dairy, smithy (where a blacksmith worked), sawmill, and stores. All these buildings were very important for running the large Mount Edgcumbe estate. This area is now open for visitors to explore.