Cotehele

Cotehele is a medieval manor house with Tudor additions, standing on the banks of the River Tamar in east Cornwall. Built largely of granite and slate, it has remained little changed for five centuries. The Edgcumbe family rebuilt it after Sir Richard Edgcumbe supported Henry Tudor at Bosworth in 1485. Parts of the house may date from the early 15th century, including a chapel licensed in 1411. The house rambles around three courtyards, with later additions such as the north-west tower added in the 16th century. The house is one of the least altered Tudor mansions in the United Kingdom. Its three courts—Hall Court, Retainers’ Court and Kitchen Court—show phases of building from the late 15th to the 16th centuries. The great hall has an elaborate arch-braced roof dated about 1500, raised and rebuilt in the 1520s. Colonel Piers Edgcumbe altered the private apartments in the 1650s, dividing rooms and adding a new staircase. The chapel, with saints Katharine and Anne, contains the oldest unaltered domestic clock in England. The estate extends to a quay on the River Tamar, where the Tamar barge Shamrock is preserved. Formal gardens and a planted valley surround the house, with lodging ranges once used by servants. The chapel retains early stained glass and a Flemish painting of the Crucifixion. Visitors walk through courts and rooms that have seen little change since the Tudor period.