Trerice House

Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Trerice House
Location: Trerice House
County: Cornwall
Location Type: Countryside - at determined location

Overview

Set on a slope facing E in peaceful countryside a few miles from the N coast, the handsome Elizabethan house was largely built in local elvan stone as an extension of an earlier tower house on the same site.

Some fabric from the late medieval house has been incorporated in the W range but the design of the original remains speculative (Jope, 'Cornish Houses' 206--7).

Performance History

Probable performance venue. Although relevant family papers do not survive, entertainers patronized by the Arundell family performed elsewhere in Devon in the late 15th c.

Current Status

Now owned by the National Trust. Open to the public at specified times.

History of the Venue

ca. 1330 Estate acquired by Ralph Arundell via marriage with Jane, heiress of Michael Trerise.

later 15th c. Sir John Arundell (d 1473) built the first house with a hall and 3-storey tower block.

early 16th c. Sir John Arundell (1495--1560) added a 2-storey block on the S side.

1572--3 The present Elizabethan hall-house added to the NE by another Sir John Arundell (d 1580). Older hall block converted to include a great chamber on the upper floor.

1768 William Wentworth inherited the Arundell estates from his uncle John, 4th Baron Arundell of Trerice.

1775 Estates settled on Wentworth's son, Frederick Thomas, later 3rd Earl of Stafford.

late 18th c. Occupied by tenants.

1802 Estate devolved upon Sir Thomas Dyke-Acland.

ca. 1860 Dilapidated N wing taken down to the level of the string course below the eaves.

1915 Sold to the Cornwall County Council and occupied by tenants for several decades.

1953 Acquired by the National Trust.

1954 Excavations revealed the existence of 2 prior phases of the house. N facade restored according to its original design.

Record Source

REED Devon 32, 34, 36

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Arundell, John 0-1473 Knight
Arundell, John 1447-1512 Knight

Bibliographic Sources

  • Davidson, Robin. Cornwall. London: Batsford, 1978.
  • Delderfield, Eric R. West Country Historic Houses and Their Families. Exmouth: E.R.D., 1975.
  • Gill, Crispin. The Great Cornish Families: A History of the People and their Homes. 1995. Tiverton: Cornwall Books, 2000.
  • Jope, E.M. 'Cornish Houses, 1400–1700.' . Studies in Building History. E.M. Jope, ed. London: Odhams, 1961.
  • The National Trust. Trerice, Cornwall. 1991. London: The National Trust, 2003.
  • Pett, Douglas Ellory. The Parks and Gardens of Cornwall: A Companion Guide arranged to correspond with the Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps. Penzance: Alison Hodge, 1998.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. Cornwall. Radcliffe, Enid, rev. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1970.
  • Quiller-Couch, Arthur T. 'Trerice Manor House, Newquay, Cornwall: The Property of Sir Charles T. Dyke Acland, Bart.' Country Life 30 (5 Aug. 1911): 206–13.
  • Saunders, Andrew. Devon and Cornwall. London: HMSO, 1991.