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| Highlights |  | Events
See events leaflet or website |  | Guided tours
Occasional guided walks on estate |  | Country walks
Estate walks leaflet available |
About this property
At the heart of an historic estate, owned by the National Trust since 2000, lies one of Cornwall's most beautiful and romantic old houses. Newly acquired by the Trust, Godolphin was considered in the 17th century to be the most fashionable house in Cornwall. It was the springboard for the political ambitions of the illustrious Godolphin family, who had made their fortune from the rich mineral deposits on the estate. However, after 1710 no Godolphin lived here, and the house and estate were left to settle gently into the landscape. Centuries of benign neglect have given the house and garden and surrounding estate buildings an extraordinarily haunting air of antiquity and peace, a fragile atmosphere that has been protected and nurtured through the 20th century by the Schofield family. Miraculously the garden has barely changed since the 14th and 16th centuries, with the latest fashions passing it by. It is so rare to discover a garden such as this, which has not been radically altered through the ages, and this is why it is considered to be one of the most important historic gardens in Europe. This garden is not about plants and flowers but about the unique remains of a medieval pattern. There are many fascinating walks on the estate, which includes Godolphin Hill and more than 400 recorded archaeological features – from Bronze Age enclosures to dramatic 19th-century mining remains. Godolphin is a distinct area within the 'Cornish Mining' World Heritage Site.
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