Tregothnan

Tregothnan
Tregothnan House, in 1880. Published in Morris, Rev. F.O. Picturesque Views of Seats of Noblemen & Gentlemen of Great Britain & Ireland, London, 1880
General information
Town or city	St Michael Penkivel, Cornwall
Country	United Kingdom
Client	Hugh Boscawen (first build)
Design and construction
Architect	William Wilkins Lewis Vulliamy
Designations	Grade I listed

Tregothnan is a house and estate near the village of St Michael Penkivel 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Truro in Cornwall, England.

Tregothnan is located on a hill overlooking an inlet of the Carrick Roads.

The house and estate is the historic seat of the Boscawen family, Viscounts Falmouth. The original medieval house was ransacked in the 17th century during the English Civil War.

The new house was built after 1650. This building was visited and described by Celia Fiennes, a cousin of Hugh Boscawen, the builder. In the 18th century, the house was the home of Admiral Edward Boscawen. In 1818, the house was enlarged by William Wilkins for the fourth Viscount Falmouth and in 1845-8 Lewis Vulliamy rebuilt it for the second Earl of Falmouth.

In 1872 the land holdings of Viscount Falmouth, of Mereworth Castle, Maidstone, Kent, were listed in the top ten land holdings in Cornwall, with an estate of 25,910 acres (10,490 ha), 3.41% of the total area of Cornwall.

Tregothnan is still managed by the Boscawen family today.

Tregothnan is famous for its large private botanical garden and arboretum. Tregothnan is not open to the public, but guided visits to the garden may be arranged.

A tea plantation has recently been started on the grounds. Tregothnan was home to the first outdoor camellias in the UK, around 1800. The first commercial tea was developed from Camellia sinensis, the "Chinese tea plant", in 2001. The first 'English tea' was then sold in November 2005 to Fortnum & Mason of Piccadilly. The Tregothnan Estate plans on marketing a brand-named tea house franchise called Festival of Tea, to be opened as far afield as China.