Port Eliot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Port Eliot |
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Port Eliot and St Germans Church
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| Location | St Germans, Cornwall, England |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Port Eliot House | |
| Designated | 21 July 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1140516 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Town Lodge | |
| Designated | 23 January 1968 |
| Reference no. | 1311300 |
| Official name: Port Eliot | |
| Designated | 11 June 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1000426 |
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Port Eliot is a historic house located in St Germans, Cornwall, England. It's the long-time home of the Eliot family. The current head of the family is Albert Eliot, who is the 11th Earl of St Germans.
Port Eliot includes a grand house and its own church. This church is also the main church for the village of St Germans. Long ago, an older church here was Cornwall's most important cathedral. The house sits on a huge estate of about 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares). This land reaches out to nearby villages like Tideford, Trerulefoot, and Polbathic. Both the house and its beautiful gardens are considered very important historic sites.
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History of Port Eliot
Port Eliot was first built as a priory, which is like a monastery, with the St Germans Priory Church right next to it. Some parts of the house are very old, dating back to the 12th century. The house was changed and updated a lot in the 1600s and 1700s. Famous architects, like Sir John Soane, helped with these changes.
In the 1700s and 1800s, the Eliot family spent a lot of money improving their estate. They built many farmhouses, cottages for fishermen, and other homes across their land. Many of these buildings are still part of the estate today. They are rented out to local people and friends of the family. Some properties, especially those far from the main estate, have been sold in recent years. In 2014, a large part of the estate, about 700 hectares, was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall.
Festivals at Port Eliot
The Elephant Fayre
In 1980, a small festival needed a new home. It found the beautiful grounds of the Port Eliot estate. The estate agreed, and this started the Elephant Fayre. It was a very unique festival in the 1980s. The festival happened every year from 1981 to 1986. It began with about 1,500 visitors over four days. It featured a mix of music, theatre, and visual arts.
Over the years, the festival grew much larger. It attracted crowds of up to 30,000 people. Popular bands like The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees played there. After some challenges in 1985, Lord Eliot and the other organizers decided that the 1986 festival would be the last one.
Port Eliot Festival
In 2003, Lord St Germans started a new event called the Port Eliot Lit Fest. This festival continued as the Port Eliot Festival until 2019. It was known for its focus on literature, music, and art.
Visiting Port Eliot
In March 2008, the house and its grounds opened to the public for the first time. They were open for 100 days and welcomed 12,000 visitors. Today, there is a shop and a cafe with gardens that are open all year round. You can also take guided tours to see inside the historic house.
Images for kids
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A view of Port Eliot house
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Port Eliot from a distance
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The historic St Germans Priory Church
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An old postcard view of Port Eliot
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Another view of Port Eliot
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