From pre-historic settlements to modern art, Godolphin is a place where five thousand years of continuous human activity come together in one uniquely Cornish estate. Home to the Godolphin family from the 1300s to 1786, the estate witnessed the rise and fall of their mining wealth and political power. It then fell out of use as a grand home and garden, before undergoing a revival in the 20th century.
Five thousand years ago, with a panoramic view stretching from coast to coast, neolithic people built an enclosure of ceremonial importance on top of Godolphin Hill. A thousand years later their hut circles and cairns were surrounded by Bronze Age field systems, where animals were reared and crops grown. Archaeological finds from the mid-18th century suggest that these people may have been mining the tin or copper deposits here too.
By 1284, Godolphin Hill was used for rough grazing and probably also for mining on its south-western and eastern slopes. During this time, a local family began their rise to power. The name ‘Alexander of Goldoghan’ appears in local court documents, where disputes were being settled over the ownership of land rich in tin.
The Godolphins expanded their mining interests and built a manor house with the proceeds. The first house, which no longer survives, probably sat in the centre of a grid of compartment gardens, the remains of which are still visible at Godolphin today and may date the gardens to the 14th century. A deer park on the northeast slope of Godolphin Hill may also have been added around this time. Its stone walls topped with paths formed the outside walls of the garden precinct, from which deer could be seen grazing, and sweeping views of the park enjoyed.
1442 -1513
John Godolphin I (born c. 1442) and his son, also called John (c.1463 – pre-1513), demolished and reorientated the family home on a new alignment, beginning a period of continual expansion and remodelling that stretched into the 1630s, which was funded by the tin extracted from their mines.
John Godolphin II was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1504 and 1508. An eminent tin works owner, he held shared stewardship of the mines of Devon and Cornwall on behalf of the Crown.
Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds (1713–89) inherited Godolphin in 1786 as the widower of Lady Mary Godolphin (1723–64). He commissioned a map of the estate (now in the collections of Kresen Kernow, Redruth) and let the property to a Captain Bains for £300 a year. Bains was still there five years later when Francis Osborne the 5th Duke of Leeds (1751–99) made his only visit to Godolphin, accompanied by celebratory bonfires on hills, canon fire and bellringing.
In preparation for the visit, building works were carried out at the house, blocking early windows and adding in a more fashionable new one. The works also involved rebuilding some of the first-floor structure and ceiling with extensive repairs to the roof, which suggests that the house must have been in poor condition.
This investment was not enough to keep the house in good order however. In 1804, local man Christopher Wallis noted in his diary ‘this venerable old mansion demolished, and the materials thereof sold by auction, the handsomest, largest and best proportioned Hall in England except Westminster Hall’.
In the 19th century a succession of local tenant farming families lived at Godolphin. They altered the buildings to suit their needs, partitioning rooms and storing apples and onions in the Kings Room. The Rosewarne family grassed over the six easternmost compartments of the Side Garden, preserving for us today the remains of the historic garden that lie beneath.
In 1937, Sydney Schofield (1901-1983) bought Godolphin, and so began an era of care and creativity. Sydney had first visited the estate whilst on a painting trip in Cornwall with his father, Walter Elmer Schofield (1867-1944) an eminent impressionist artist from America.
Godolphin had been recommended to them as a subject by Lilian Lanyon, wife of Herbert Lanyon the Cornish composer, pianist and photographer who lived in nearby St Ives. Some years later, Herbert and Lilian’s daughter Mary (1917–2008) married Sydney and together they set about preserving Godolphin.
Sydney was a committee member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and combined a sensitivity to conservation with a farmer’s ‘make do and mend’ practicality. The couple bought back architectural elements of Godolphin which had been dispersed, introduced some new pieces from elsewhere and collected antiques with which to furnish the house. In 1957, they won a government grant to restore the roof and opened the house to the public for the first time.
By the late 1990s, the deterioration of the buildings was cause for concern. Sydney and Mary’s son John returned to live at Godolphin and took on management of the repair works. Like his father, John was a Committee Member of the SPAB and ensured that work done was respectful to the historic fabric of the buildings. John says they ‘worked with a painter’s eye’ to keep the beauty of Godolphin intact.
The family’s building repairs were a race against time, but it proved impossible to keep pace with the need. In 2007 the National Trust purchased Godolphin House and surrounding buildings for the benefit of future generations and began a major programme of sensitive conservation work.
The North Range was treated for rot and woodworm, its walls pinned together with five and a half tonnes of steel and its roof replaced. The farm has seen its granary and piggery conserved, and the Cider House was fully reopened in 2015. The historic garden’s recovery has been carefully managed by hand to preserve the important archaeology beneath.
Since 2006, Godolphin has been part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Site in recognition of its importance as a place of mining heritage. Today, the National Trust’s work to conserve and protect Godolphin’s unique character continues.
Find out when Godolphin is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
Godolphin House provides a unique place for guests to stay and is open to the public for the first week of every month from the first Saturday to the following Thursday, except January. Find out more about our opening times here.
Godolphin’s garden paths provide a natural space that’s rich in history. Find out how the garden provides a home to the native Cornish bee. Explore the orchard, side garden paddock and King’s Garden.
Discover the countryside and find out how a herd of cows can help butterflies to thrive. Take walks with far reaching views across the Cornish coast and discover local legend in this ancient landscape.
Learn about people from the past, discover remarkable works of art and brush up on your knowledge of architecture and gardens.