About Lanhydrock House
Often called the finest house in Cornwall, Lanhydrock House stands in 450 acres of wooded parkland near Bodmin, encircled by gardens of rare shrubs and trees that are lovely in every season. Visitors can explore 49 rooms, ranging from richly furnished Victorian family rooms to the maids' bedrooms, the great kitchen, and the Nursery Wing.
First built in the 17th century and largely rebuilt after a fire in 1881, the principal rooms retain their beautifully worked plaster ceilings — most famously the Long Gallery, where a mid-17th-century ceiling illustrates scenes from the Old Testament. Through the crenellated gatehouse, built in 1651, an idyllic walk leads down to the River Fowey at Respryn Bridge and back through the woods — not to be missed.
Gallery
Inside the House
Lanhydrock offers a rare window into both sides of Victorian life. The kitchen, larders, and dairy still hold the utensils and equipment once used to feed a great household, while the cellars, bakehouse, and servants' quarters are open to explore alongside the family's own apartments.
The undoubted highlight is the Long Gallery in the surviving north wing, where an elaborate plaster ceiling — created by local craftsmen in the mid-17th century — depicts scenes from the Old Testament. The house is furnished largely in Victorian style, though it also holds earlier 18th-century furniture and tapestries.
A Cornish Family's Rise
The Robartes family rose to prominence in the 16th century through the Cornish tin trade, working as merchants and bankers. Richard Robartes was knighted in 1616, and by 1625 he was wealthy enough to be made Baron Robartes of Truro — a title reportedly costing him £10,000 in the process.
Lanhydrock's history reaches back much further, though. The estate began as a monastic barton (farm) belonging to the Priory of St Petroc in Bodmin. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it passed to the Glynn family, then by marriage to the Lyttelton family, and later to Thomas Trenance. In 1620, Trenance's son sold the estate to Sir Richard Robartes, beginning more than three centuries of Robartes ownership.
Sir Richard died in 1634, leaving his son John — already a leading figure among Cornwall's Parliamentarians — to continue the building work, including the gatehouse, completed in 1651. When civil war broke out, John declared for Parliament and garrisoned Lanhydrock, but in 1644 Royalist forces under Sir Richard Grenville seized the estate. John escaped by sea to Plymouth, though his children were held prisoner at Lanhydrock. He later became governor of Plymouth and helped raise the Royalist siege of the town.
Fire and Rebirth
Thomas James Agar-Robartes took the Robartes name in 1822 and inherited the estate from his mother in 1861. He was created Baron Robartes of Lanhydrock and Truro in 1869 — but on 4 April 1881, disaster struck: a fire tore through the house, leaving only the north wing, entrance porch, and gatehouse standing. Lady Robartes, then 68, was rescued by ladder from an upstairs window but died from shock days later. Lord Robartes never recovered from the loss of his wife and family home, and died the following year.
Their son, Thomas Charles Robartes, succeeded as 2nd Baron Robartes and rebuilt Lanhydrock using the original grey granite, creating the symmetrical house — arranged around three sides of a courtyard — that visitors see today. Once complete, he restored the neighbouring church in memory of his parents.
Lanhydrock remained in the Robartes family until 1953, when the 7th Viscount Clifden gave the house and estate to the National Trust.
The Gardens
Around 30 acres of garden surround the house, including formal parterres and sweeping herbaceous borders that still follow their 19th-century plan. Look out for the bronze urns dotted through the parterre — originally from the Château de Bagatelle in Paris, they were brought to Lanhydrock by the 7th Viscount Clifden in the 1920s.
Higher up, the wooded gardens are planted with rhododendrons, magnolias, and camellias, blending naturally into the surrounding oak and beech woodland. Beyond the garden walls, roughly 1,000 acres of woodland and meadow are threaded with footpaths, making Lanhydrock as much a place for a long walk as a house to explore.
Visitor Information
- Address: Lanhydrock, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 5AD
- House and garden open daily, March to October
- Parkland, woodland trails and cafés open year-round
- Café and gift shop on site