A negligent owner
Charles was succeeded as Earl by his nephew Henry (1695-1741). In 1724 Henry ventured on a ‘Grand Tour’, finally settling in Venice with his mistress, ‘a singer lately on stage in Naples’. His only visits back to England were to refinance himself in order to support his mistress, who, it was reported, ‘does not care much what becomes of his person…but continues to touch his pence’.
Both Charles and Henry neglected Lanhydrock during their 56 years of ownership, leading John Loveday to observe the house ‘extremely out of repair and utterly destitute of furniture’ following his visit in 1736.
Unloved and unwanted
On the death of Henry in 1741 the estate passed to his sister, Mary Vere Robartes, great granddaughter of John Robartes, the 1st Earl of Radnor. Mary rarely visited Lanhydrock, writing ‘It’s impossible to have a more disagreeable estate to manage’ and in a letter of 1754 considered demolishing the house and selling off its contents with the building being valued at £1,500 for architectural salvage. She valued the whole estate at £110,000.
Demolition