Cotehele House

From Lanhydrock, we drove to Cotehele, another National Trust property.

Although there has been a dwelling at Cotehele since medieval times, the current house is mostly Tudor, rebuilt by three generations of the Edgcumbe family between 1485 and 1560. The family built another house, Mount Edgcumbe, 12 miles away between 1547 and 1553 and made it their main family seat. So, Cotehele was relegated to second-home status before it was even finished! The result of the house not being used on a daily basis is that it is a bit of a time warp with all the original 16th-century furniture still in place.

In the mid-18th century, Mount Edgcumbe was remodelled, and all its unfashionable tapestries were shipped up the river Tamar to Cotehele, where they remain today.

In 1947, Cotehele passed to the National Trust in lieu of death duties. The contents remained in Edgcumbe ownership until they, too, were transferred in 1974.

We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours exploring the house and grounds.Read more