.png)
Trewan’s history spans stories of legend, gentry, world wars, times of neglect and now as a place for generations of campers to enjoy. Although the lives of those pre mid 20th Century have been difficult to discover we have been able to pull together this booklet, highlighting some of the key figures in Trewan’s past and identified features that can still be seen today.
For nearly 300 years Trewan belonged to an ancient Cornish family, the Vivians. And it is only right and proper that there would be a legend attached.....
The Legend of the Lost Land of Lyoness
“There was once a forested land which stretched from the Cornish coast to the Isles of Scilly. People living there were driven out by a sudden rise in sea levels, and amongst those attempting to escape was a Vivian, the Governor of Lyoness. He escaped on a white horse, finding safety on the coast of West Penwith ( the very western tip of Cornwall ) where he settled. Hence the white horse, saddled and bridled on the crest of the Vyvyan coat of arms.
There is still evidence of a submerged forest near St Michael's Mount which suggests the legend is based on fact. It is believed that the Vyvyan family always had a white horse ready, saddled and bridled in the stables, up until the early 20th century, just in case!
The beautiful manor house of Trewan was built in 1633 by John Vivian of Higher Trenowth, located half a mile to the west on the St Mawgan road. He had acquired wealth, probably through advantageous marriage and was able to build the new property, where he lived from the age of 51 until his death in 1647 aged 65.
The date is inscribed in granite over the fireplace in the main hall. There is a monument in St Columb church to 4 of John's children with his second wife Mary. In all, they had 11 sons and 3 daughters, many of whom died young.
The Vivians (spelt with an 'i') were the junior branch of the Vyvyan family (spelt with a 'y') of Trelowarren, the family estate located on the Lizard peninsula near to the Helford passage. In 1697 John's great granddaughter Mary (who inherited Trewan in 1716) married Sir Richard Vyvyan of Trelowarren, uniting the two branches of the family. Sir Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London for the part he played in the Jacobite rising of 1715 and was joined there for a while by his wife, Mary. She gave birth to a daughter while imprisoned. By all accounts, Mary was a tough lady who survived her husband by 32 years and played an active part in managing the Vyvyan estates, which now included Trewan.
Trewan then passed from Mary's 3rd son to a nephew, then a cousin and by the 1850s must have been much neglected and was in a poor state of repair. So much so that the original hall on the western side, as featured in the old illustrations was demolished.
photo
It was described in a book of 1817 as 'the grand hall is lofty and curiously finished. A handsome arched ceiling, the basement of which rests on a cornice whereon are exhibited in figures of plaster of Paris the principal events of Genesis.'
We think it must have looked similar to the gallery at Lanhydrock, with plaster of Paris figures of Adam and Eve.
It was Richard Henry Stockhouse Vyvyan who undertook the extensive repairs in 1860/61, replacing the dilapidated hall with the western wing as we see it today. The renovations were designed by the Victorian architect William White. RHS Vyvyan lived at Trewan until his death in 1881. It then passed to a cousin who died in 1917 leaving the estate to his 2nd son, also called Richard!
Major Richard Vyvyan owned Trewan for only 3 years; his reasons for selling are clear from letters he wrote to his cousin Arthur. We have copies of these letters, written from June 1917 to September 1919, giving us detailed descriptions of Trewan and his feelings for the property. Richard very much wanted to keep it in the family and having lost his eldest son, Walter, killed in the Great War of 1915, hoped that Arthur, a fruit farmer in Sussex, would be interested.
He wrote to him 'it was your branch of the family, the eldest brother of your great grandfather, who held the property in the last century'. He sent him a copy of the family tree, 'showing a direct descent of yourself from John Vivian who built the original house in 1635.'
Richard describes Trewan as ‘a nice little compact estate' which 'comprises of about 1500 acres made up by the house and 9 main farms....with 35 acres or so of wood'. He goes on to say that it 'stands high, nearly 400 feet above the sea, facing south, in well wooded grounds of about 20 acres protected from north and east'. The numbers of rooms are listed so we know that the present library is original and so too the billiard room. The house included 5 sitting rooms, 12 bed and dressing rooms, 2 servants' rooms, 1 servants' hall, 1 maids' room, 1 bathroom and 3 WC's.
Knowing that money was a problem, Richard explored whether there was any possibility of mining tin on the estate to finance its upkeep, and perhaps tempt his cousin to show more interest. Richard also mentioned drawbacks. He claimed that when Trewan was rebuilt in 1859-60, it was done badly with consideration only for ‘a good outward appearance.’
He went on to say that 'the rooms are small and low with insufficient accommodation.’ Dry rot was a problem and 'the dining room is a long way from the kitchen, and the building covers too much ground'. However, he was obviously very fond of the place and went on to say 'the situation is excellent, so is the water supply. It is away from the high road and motor traffic. It is sheltered from north and east, and many plants and shrubs usually grown in the greenhouse, live through the winter without protection.' Apparently he intended to pull down the farm buildings near the house (he was referring to our present shop, barns and cottage) 'it is my intention to pull these down-they have always been an eyesore and too near the house – bringing rats and flies and such small deer. There is also a rickyard near them, which entails the noise of threshing and other disadvantages.' and to build a road across Barn Park field to give the good people of Talskiddy a more direct route to St Columb. Later on in his letters he claims that 'the whole house [Trewan Hall] will have to come down – there is no question about that'. We are so glad this decision was shelved!
Arthur was never persuaded to buy the property and in 1920 it was sold to a Mr Hawkey, a farmer who was using the farm buildings on the estate and had bought fields on either side. He then moved into the Hall with his extended family. Although Richard's eldest son died in 1915 aged 27, he did have another son Walter but we do not know his story.
Photos of Trewan from the 1920's
Trewan was requisitioned during the war by the Air Ministry in May 1942 to accommodate personnel who were stationed at RAF St Eval. Nissan huts concrete foundations can still be seen (two of which were used for building the Barn Park toilet block and table tennis room). The officers were billeted in the main house and we still have the sign noting office hours attached to the bathroom door!
Many of the men who were stationed at Trewan have returned over the years to visit and to remember. According to one of these ex-service men, in the first 8 months of 1944, '50 inhabitants of Trewan Hall failed to return from operations, and have no known graves.'
These three were members of a crew who flew in the Leigh Light Liberators of 53 Squadron from St Eval.
After changing hands once or twice after the forces left, Trewan was bought by Denis Hill in 1961. Having caught a glimpse of the house while driving past in his landrover when on holiday – the vantage point allowing views over the tall hedges - he and Phyllis pushed their way through overgrown Rhododendron and bramble to have a closer look. It was probably the dilapidated state of the property as much as its qualities and potential that appealed, with the opportunity it presented to escape London and make good use of skills acquired while working for the family building firm.
With 4 very young children in tow (ultimately 5) the early years at Trewan were challenging. The wings of the Hall were converted into rentable flats which brought in much needed income, but all other attempts to make a living were unsuccessful. With no farming or horticultural skills and experience of contract building work in the area unrewarding, the idea of a camping site seemed an exciting prospect. One field, Barn Park, and a very small shop opened in 1965 and proved a success from the beginning, leading to the construction and development of the swimming pool in 1967, and the opening of Calves Close field in 1969.
It is interesting now to wander through the grounds and recognise something of the original layout of the landscaped garden. This is evident by looking at the old maps (see back the last page). Most of the original trees in the lime and beech avenues are still standing along with the folly, the focal point of the vista. Perhaps this once contained a statue or a seat? The fish pond situated down in the valley woodlands is now being reclaimed by nature but would once have been an attractive feature.
An important aim for the Hill family has always been to restore this beautiful manor house to its former glory and to protect the estate from over commercialisation. Over the years, this has largely been achieved, thanks to the continued success of the camping business. The journey from tackling dry rot soon after arrival, replacing old ugly Victorian windows with leaded lights, removing clay chimney pots and restoring the hall, barns and outbuildings using local stone and rebuilding the garden walls in the original cob, has been a long one. But, it has always been important to the family to retain the essential character of the estate and preserve its historical features.
If you got this far, thank you for taking the time to read this! This blog post is a small rework of the text Joanna Davies (née Hill) wrote in 2021 and much thanks must go to her for her diligent research and write up.
Komentáře