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Exploring Godolphin House and Garden

May 25, 2019

I had a real treat this May when we visited The National Trust Godolphin House, that opens for a just a few days each month.

From the walk through the bluebell woods, to the iconic ravaged time worn wooden doors; from the fabulous granite paving slabs, to the intriguing doorways that open to yet another vista of the house, Godolphin House was redolent with the simmering character of a place rooted in time.

Exploring Godolphin House

Drifts of Bluebells under the lush green leaves of the woodland in spring at Godolphin woods

The walk from the car park across the Godolphin Estate is always a delight and especially when the Bluebells are in flower in the ancient woodlands there. You may remember my last visit when I walked through the woods to climb Godolphin Hill for the fabulous views but for this visit the house was beckoning.

My last visit there was when it was under the ownership of Mrs Schofield so I was intrigued to revisit the old historic house again.

Godolphin House entrance - Old wood arched doorway

An extraordinary amount of work has gone into reclaiming the ancient House of Godolphin that dates back to 15th-century and was once one of the most important in Cornwall which at its zenith had nearly one hundred rooms until it fell on hard times and was eventually used for tenant farmers.


Godolphin Today

True, part of Godolphin House has now been sensitively restored for modern self catering but I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I wandered below the clouds of wisteria filling an inner courtyard with a soft seductive perfume and gently entwining the ruins of stone mullion windows.

Wisteria beside steps in old courtyard

As we crossed the inner courtyard from the time-worn doorway to the house with returning swallows swooping overhead,  I decided this must be what it would be like to live inside a fantasy from Instagram!

To one side of the building a range of buildings lays sensitively preserved but largely undisturbed the high status stonework whispering a story of Godolphins half forgotten past.

High status stone framed doorway and flagged floors

 

Godolphin Reinvented

The renovation we see today treads a tight line between the need to earn its living as a modern self catering property with the sensitive addition of en suite bathrooms and sensible furnishings and respect for the ancient architecture.

Classic four poster bed
Chimney peice in country house style bedroom
Discreetly furnished country house style
Fabulous antique chandelier
Stylish master bedroom with four poster bed
16th-century timber ceiling
Formal country house style

Now replete with a soft classic country house style with a Farrow and Ball paint palette, the sunlight played on the timeless mullion windows and there was still the delicate tangible scent of wood smoke in the air that I remembered from my previous visit.

casual -sitting room with log burning stove

I almost expect to meet Poirot or Inspector Barnaby investigating a murder as we wandered through the relaxed interior and stopped to slot a small piece into a jigsaw puzzle or perched on a soft sofa to watch a DVD of the history.

 

The King’s Room

The suite of rooms on the upper floor grow grander with each doorway until we eventually reached the King’s Room that opens straight on to the 16th-century walled  garden.

State room Godolphin
The finely carved doorway was created in 1604 for the marriage of Sir William Godolphin

 

The garden at Godolphin House in May

Herbacious border along courtyard wall

Finally we emerged back into the sunlight into the King’s garden attached to Godolphin’s state room with a soft herbaceous planting and a layout probably unchanged since the 16th century.

Woven Bee Skep in granite niche

I was intrigued to see the traditional Bee-Skeps set once more within the warm shelter of the walls and the promise of a cloud of rose blossom just about to break but that will be the highlight of the garden a little later in the month!


Godolphin House a very short history!

Elizabethan stables - buildings at Godolphin House

The earliest developments on the site was a castle built in 1300 but the house that we see today is largely Tudor and occupied by the Godolphin family from the 15th until the 18th-century. The house was expanded over the centuries and at one time stretched to one hundred rooms.

The Tuscan columns and a double-loggia on the north front survive as an unfinished project from 1630 by Frances Godolphin to redesign the House in neoclassical Italianate style interrupted by the civil war.

A large portion of the House was demolished in 1805 leaving the Tudor nucleus to act as a Farmhouse with the Elizabethan stables


When Is Godolphin House open?

Godolphin House opens generally opens for the first week of each month whilst the Grade one listed stables and the early garden remains open throughout the year. Check the National Trust website to confirm opening times

How to find Godolphin House

Godolphin House, Godolphin Cross, Helston, Cornwall, United Kingdom TR13 9RE

National Trust brown sign -godolphin

From Helston take A394 to Sithney Common, turn right onto B3302 to Leedstown, turn left, follow signs.

From Hayle B3302 to Leedstown, turn right, follow signs.

From the West, B3280 through Goldsithney, turn right at Townshend

Rural carts displayed in teh buildings permanently opened

Parking

All day parking charge is £3 per vehicle. National Trust members and blue badge holders park for free.

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About Christine Taylor

Christine has written a weekly blog about life at Ednovean Farm and interesting places to visit in West Cornwall for over ten years now, concentrating on those off the beaten track places that only the locals find.

Charles and Christine Taylor have hosted Luxury Bed and Breakfast at Ednovean Farm Nr Penzance in West Cornwall since 1991 and live there with three cats and five horses, including a Spanish Stallion called Danni.

Ednovean Farm has been awarded AA five star gold for Bed and breakfast and is included in The Michelin Guide and The Alastair Sawday Guide .

The Farmhouse and gardens has been featured in BBC Homes and Antiques, Homes and Gardens. Period Living and 25 Beautiful Homes as well as being used as a film and photo shoot location.

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Christine and Charles Taylor,
Ednovean Farm, Ednovean Lane,
Perranuthnoe, Nr Penzance,
Cornwall TR20 9LZ

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