Shared description
Lanhydrock: House, Church & Lands
"In the medieval period Lanhydrock was a grange belonging to the Priory of St Petroc at Bodmin. At the Dissolution the property passed to the Glynn family, and subsequently, through marriage, to the Lyttelton family. In 1577 a further marriage settlement conveyed it to Thomas Trenance, in whose family it remained until 1620 when it was sold to Sir Richard Robartes of Truro. Sir Richard was created Baron Robartes of Truro in 1625, and began to rebuild the monastic grange; this work was completed by his son John, second Lord Robartes, who inherited the estate in 1634. Lord Robartes, who in 1630 married Lucy Rich, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, was active in politics and garrisoned Lanhydrock for Parliament during the Civil War and fought at Edge Hill and Newbury. The house was taken by Royalist forces in 1644, but after 1649 it was recovered by Robartes, who spent much time there in retirement from politics. In 1679 he was created Earl of Radnor and Viscount Bodmin by Charles II. The first Earl's eldest son, Robert, Viscount Bodmin died in 1682, three years before his father; at the first Earl's death the estate passed to his grandson, Charles Bodville Robartes, second Earl of Radnor. Through his wife the second Earl inherited Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire (qv) in 1693; Radnor laid out extensive formal gardens at Wimpole, but in 1710 financial pressures forced him to sell the property. The second Earl died without issue in 1723, and was succeeded as third Earl by his nephew Henry (c 1695-1741). The third Earl also died childless, leaving the title to a distant cousin and the Cornish estates to his sister Mary, the wife of Thomas Hunt of Great Mollington, Cheshire. Their eldest son, George (1720?-98), moved to Lanhydrock and renovated the house which had been empty since 1723. George Hunt, who served as MP for Bodmin from 1753, remained unmarried, and at his death in 1798 left the property to his niece, Anna Maria Hunt. Anna Maria married Charles Agar, youngest son of the first Viscount Clifden in 1804, but her husband died only seven years later, leaving her to manage the estate until their son, Thomas, came of age in 1829. Thomas Agar assumed the additional name of Robartes in 1822, and between 1847 and 1868 served as MP for East Cornwall; he was created Baron Robartes of Lanhydrock and Truro in 1869. At Lanhydrock, Lord Robartes developed the park and surrounding estate with plantations and connecting carriage drives, while the house was altered by George Gilbert Scott (1811-78) in 1857. In 1881 the house was devastated by fire; Lady Robartes died within days from shock, and Lord Robartes died the following year. Their son Thomas, second Baron Robartes rebuilt the house to designs produced by Richard Coad. In 1894 Lord Robartes bought back the Wimpole estate which had been sold in 1710; this was settled on his second son, Gerald, in 1906. On the death of his cousin in 1899, Lord Robartes became sixth Viscount Clifden. Lord Clifden's eldest son was killed during the First World War, and at his death in 1930 Lanhydrock passed to his second son, who sold Wimpole in 1936. The seventh Viscount gave the house, park, and woodlands to the National Trust in 1953, in whose ownership the property remains (2000)."
EH Listed Grade I
Lanhydrock House: Link
Church of St Hydrock: Link
Gatehouse: Link
EH Listed Grade II*
Service building: Link
Walls & Gates: Link
Park & Garden: Link
EH Listed Grade II
Churchyard cross: Link
Churchyard monument (unidentified): Link
Coffin rest (in churchyard): Link
Urns: Link
There are other Grade II listed structures in the wider grounds.
Lanhydrock is owned and cared for by the National Trust and can be visited: Link
31 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:
... and 6 more images.
Shared descriptions
This shared description
The 'Shared Description' text on this page is © copyright 2023 Rob Farrow.
Shared descriptions are specifically licensed so that contributors can reuse them on their own images, without restriction.
About shared descriptions
These Shared Descriptions are common to multiple images.
For example, you can create a generic description for an object shown in a photo, and reuse the description on all photos of the object. All descriptions are public and shared between contributors, i.e. you can reuse a description created by others, just as they can use yours.
Explore images
View images using this "Lanhydrock: House, Church & Lands" Shared Description
View images mentioning the words [Lanhydrock: House, Church & Lands] anywhere in text
Links for SX085636
This description is located in SX085636.
Other shared descriptions
Search for other Shared Descriptions.