Penjerrick

The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit the The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list

A mid 19th century informal valley garden with an extensive 19th century collection of sub-tropical plants and early hybrid rhododendrons.

DESCRIPTION

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

Penjerrick is situated c 2km south-west of Falmouth and c 1km south of the village of Buddock Water; the coast at Maen Porth lies c 1.25km to the south-east. The c 10ha site is divided into two unequal areas by a public road, Penjerrick Hill, which crosses the site from north-east to south-west; the road is sunken and crossed by a timber footbridge connecting the two areas of garden. To the north the site adjoins a minor road, No Mans' Land Road, while a further minor road forms the boundary to the west. The area of garden to the south-east of Penjerrick Hill, known as the Wilderness, adjoins agricultural land to the south-west, south, and east. The site occupies a valley which drops from north-west to south-east, allowing distant views of the sea. A stream in the valley to the south-east of Penjerrick Hill has been dammed to create ponds. The upper edges of the valley are planted with mixed shelter belts.

Entrances and Approaches

Penjerrick is entered from Penjerrick Hill to the north-east, at a point adjacent to its junction with No Mans' Land Road. An early or mid C19 single-storey stone lodge stands to the north of the entrance which is closed by contemporary wrought-iron gates. The tarmac drive descends gently west and south-west for c 400m through an area of parkland to reach the north side of the house. The drive was laid out by Robert Barclay Fox in 1840.

Principal Building

The present house was constructed in 1935 on the site of an early C19 two-storey villa which was adapted c 1839 by Robert Barclay Fox from existing cottages.

Gardens and Pleasure Grounds

The informal gardens lie principally to the east and south-east of the house. A terrace walk below the south-east facade of the house allows views down the valley, across the gardens, towards Falmouth Bay. The terrace leads past the remains of a mid C19 covered fernery. Constructed by Robert Were Fox in the mid C19, this structure comprised a 'cave-like passage' which led from one of the principal rooms in the house to an 'underground grotto', which, lit by a skylight, accommodated filmy ferns; further ferneries were located to each side of this grotto, one being heated and another devoted to tree ferns (Gardeners' Chronicle 1871).

Winding walks lead off the terrace, passing through the extensive plant collection; specimen trees and shrubs, including significant early hybrid rhododendrons raised by Robert Barclay Fox and Samuel Smith, are planted informally in grass. The plant collection was begun in the 1840s by Robert Barclay Fox, and continued after his death in 1855 by his father, Robert Were Fox, who specialised in sub-tropical planting and the scientific study of plant acclimatisation in Cornwall.

Below the terrace a lawn or glade falls away to the south-east and the boundary above Penjerrick Hill; at the southern corner of the glade, beneath a large copper beech, a rustic timber bridge crosses the road to reach a further area of gardens. The glade was formed by Robert Barclay Fox in 1839 when existing trees were felled to create 'a beautiful vista of the meadows below' (Barclay Fox's Journal, 28 September 1839).

The valley garden below and to the south-east of Penjerrick Hill is known as the Wilderness. A stream flowing through the valley has been dammed to form a chain of four pools. The upper pool is adjoined by rockwork and a grotto; these were constructed by Robert Barclay Fox in January and February 1840 (Journal). Paths extend along the valley sides, providing informal walks through the ornamental planting; this is concentrated on the northern side of the valley, with a more open glade running from north-west to south-east, and a narrow belt of ornamental planting to the south-west. The remains of a C19 avenue of tree ferns survive, flanking one walk.

To the east of the upper, or Tregedna Pond, is the site of a mid C19 house which was built by Robert Were Fox's brother, Joshua, who farmed the adjacent property of Tregedna (Pett 1998). After Joshua Fox's death in 1877 this house was demolished and its grounds were absorbed into the Penjerrick gardens.

Park

The park lies to the north and north-east of the house and gardens, and is situated on a south-east-facing slope to the north and south of the drive. Today (2000) the park remains pasture with scattered mature specimen trees including pines planted on the upper slopes, and to the south-west of the lodge; the trees help to frame views south and south-east across the site towards the sea. The park was developed from farmland in the mid C19 by Robert Barclay Fox as a setting for his new drive which was constructed in 1840.

References

Gardeners' Chronicle, ii (1871), p 1490; i (1874), pp 308, 375; ii (1889), p 749; i (1901), pp 309-310, supplement

The Garden 55, no 1 (1899), p 31

P M Synge, The Gardens of Britain I, (1977), pp 113-115

R L Brett (ed), Barclay Fox's Journal 1832-1844 (1979)

The Cornish Garden, 23 (1980), pp 17-20; 25 (1980), pp 47-50

D E Pett, The Parks and Gardens of Cornwall, (1998) pp 121-123, 318-319

Maps

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1934 edition

Illustrations

Engraving, View in the Grounds, Penjerrick, Near Falmouth (published in Gardeners' Chronicle 1889)

Archival items

Photographs, early C20 (published in The Garden 1899; Gardeners' Chronicle 1901

Description written: September 2000

Edited: October 2001