The 723-acre Trevarno Estate near Crowntown, three miles north of Helston, dates from 1246 and has been the subject of an extensive restoration programme since 1994, when the estate was bought by an electronics company. Before that, Trevarno was owned by the Bickford-Smith family, inventors of the miners’ safety fuse, who created the 35-acre Victorian garden with its Italian garden, serpentine yew tunnel, lake and Victorian boathouse, now all restored and open to the public all year round.
Other projects, such as the National Museum of Gardening, the Victorian Toy Museum and the Soap Museum, form part of the visitor attractions which with the gardens attract 80,000 visitors a year.
Currently Trevarno House is being used as administrative offices and previously comprised five reception rooms, seven bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Estate buildings include 10 cottages and houses, an old mill and a former Sunday school building.
The diversified contours of the land make it ideal for shooting. In the past, Trevarno has been the setting for an entertaining family-run shoot, based on 2,000 reared pheasants and wildfowl such as woodcock or wild duck, which are found on the ponds and wetlands in the valley bottom.
The completion of the restoration project and the imminent retirement of one of the company partners have led to the launch of the estate in this week’s COUNTRY LIFE at a guide price of £10m through Chesterton Humberts (01872 278288).
