Trerice is a small Elizabethan manor house built of buff-coloured limestone. The house is set in a quiet valley, approached by a narrow, winding lane.
It was built in 1573 by Sir John Arundell on the site of an earlier house. He inherited the property from his father and with it the means to rebuild the house. His father, also Sir John, had a successful and lucrative career in the service of the Crown. He was knighted after the battle of the Spurs, was Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII and also served under Edward VI and Queen Mary.
The Arundell family supported the Crown during the Civil War with some loss but recovered their position after the Restoration. The house escaped alteration during the 18th and 19th centuries, probably because its owners chose to live elsewhere.
Trerice remained in the ownership of the Arundells for over 400 years but in 1802 it passed to the Acland family of Killerton in Devon.
The property was sold in 1915 and changed hands several times before it was purchased by the National Trust in 1953.
Trerice has a traditional E-shaped facade with decorative scrolled gables in the Dutch style. These are unusual in Cornwall and probably reflect Sir John Arundell's service in the Low Countries for Elizabeth I. The bay to the left of the entrance porch is completely filled by the two-storey window that lights the great hall. Many of the 576 panes are the original 16th century glass.
The south-facing drawing-room on the first floor is thought to have been created out of the medieval solar. Bold Elizabethan plasterwork decorates the barrel ceiling and the richly sculpted overmantel.
None of the furniture at Trerice is original to the house but there are still some fine oak and walnut pieces including a set of Chippendale armchairs.
The house also has ceramics and glasses and a wonderful clock collection. The house has reminders of the Arundell family's devotion to the Crown in the 17th century. The Hall is hung with Stuart portraits and a painting of Charles I by Henry Stone is displayed in the court chamber upstairs.
There is little trace of the small enclosed gardens that used to surround the house until 1915. From the grassy court at the front of the house steps lead up to what was the bowling green and upper lawn.
The garden to the south of Trerice has disappeared entirely. The grass is now planted with fruit trees in a 17th century pattern.
Across the cobbled courtyard behind the house a magnificent barn has a lawn mower collection and exhibition.
2009: 28Feb-1Nov: 11:00-17:00 Mon-Thur & Sat-Sun. Last entry 30min before close.
Tel: 01637 875404 Trerice Website
