History

Lanhydrock: Like a phoenix from the flames

Artist's impression of the 1881 fire © Paul Holden

Cornwall's Lanhydrock House is one of the country's most interesting Victorian homes, showing the up...

Five fire facts

  • The fire started in the kitchen chimney
  • High winds caused the fire to spread rapidly
  • All but one of the servants lost all their property in the blaze
  • One female servant had to jump from a window to flee the flames
  • The Gallery escaped the flames & its Jacobean ceiling survived

Tommy Agar-Robartes: a very British gentleman

Bullingdon Club - Tommy is seated on the left of the back row © Lanhydrock archive

Bullingdon Club - Tommy is seated on the left of the back row

Lanhydrock's charismatic heir, Tommy Agar-Robartes, seemed destined for greatness. From the Bullingdon Club to the ballot box then the battlefield, he was a high-flyer, magazine cover-star and leader of men. Sadly his life , like that of so many others, was tragically cut short in the First World War.

Life below stairs at Lanhydrock

Lanhydrock's bakehouse © Andreas von Einsiedel

Life in Victorian times was luxurious for the wealthy few, but what was it like for the servants who...

Learn more from the Lanhydrock journals

Pen and ink drawing of Lanhydrock House

Available for the first time online are a fascinating series of academic essays on the history of Lanhydrock and its people, written by our staff and volunteers.

Read the journals...


 

From high society to big society

The Victorian Agar-Robartes family at Lanhydrock © Lanhydrock archive

Victorian sailors were safer at sea because of the Agar-Robartes family. The family had great wealth...