Cotehele

Cotehele

Cotehele is a medieval house, rebuilt in Tudor times with later alterations, owned by the Edgcumbes from 1353 until it passed to the National Trust in 1947. It was a second home and scarcely lived in, but by the late 18th century, it had become something of a showpiece.

King George III and Queen Charlotte visited in 1789, by which time the antiquarian traditions were well-established. The Queen remarked on ‘Chair Seats made of the Priests Vestements’, typical of Cotehele's culture of reinvention. The collection includes arms and armour, oak furniture, tapestries, beds and hangings, pewter, ceramics, and an ancient faceless clock.

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  • 'Boar's head' tapestry fragment

    © Liz Flintoff. The boar's head forms part of the Edgcumbe family coat of arms. This fragment was once part of a larger tapestry, c.1480-1500. It appears to have been 'salvaged' and incorporated into a 17th-C tapestry border, where it forms the central feature.

  • 17th-century mechanical hand

    This metal limb (German, c.1600) was made for someone who had lost their left arm. It would have been covered in leather, and strapped on to the stump. There are levers and buttons to position the fingers to hold, for example, reins.

  • Three delft decanters

    These were admired by Queen Charlotte in 1789. She wrote: "The Decanters are of the year 1646 the name of the Wines burnt in the Earthenware for that Time Wines were sold at the Apothecaries Shop & in Sending such a Decanter it was filled with the Wine it bore the Label off..."

  • 18th-C wassail bowls

    Wassail is a hot, spicy, alcoholic apple drink. Wassailing apple orchards involves a loud, musical procession to drive away evil spirits who hamper the harvest. To summon help from good spirits, cider-soaked crusts of bread are hung in trees for the robin (the tree spirit).

  • Composite sword

    This sword is a 'marriage' of unrelated parts. The blade is German c.1600, the guard is possibly Scottish, and the brass pommel is from a beadle's staff. In 1938 Queen Mary visited, and was told that it once belonged to the Black Prince. Impossible, but a good story!

Admission & prices

The house is open daily 11am-4:30pm (last entry 4pm). For PRICES and the latest information concerning events across the property, please refer to www.nationaltrust.org.uk and search for Cotehele.

Find us

8 miles from Tavistock via A390, turn right at St Ann's Chapel (AVOID signs to Calstock, ignore Sat Nav instructions). 14 miles from Plymouth via Tamar Bridge, A388 (turn right at the St Mellion roundabout, to St Dominick). Train: Calstock, 1.5 miles.

Information

  • Parking available
  • Toilets On-Site
  • Cafe on-site
  • Childrens activities
  • Gift Shop

Allow plenty of time for your visit to Cotehele. As well as the house, there are gardens to explore; riverside/woodland walks; industrial ruins; a working watermill that produces flour; shop; art & craft gallery, restaurant; and a cafe on the Quay.

Cotehele's 2014-15 theme is 'Around the World'. See exotic plants in the garden, taste foreign dishes in the restaurant and embark on a 'Grand Tour of Cotehele' in the house. There is a WWI exhibition until 2018, changing annually until then. We offer tours to school groups studying the Tudors. Please contact us for more information.

Image credit: 'Cotele House, Cornwall / Engraved for the Antiquarian, & Topographical Cabinet, by W. Angus, from a sketch by S. Prout' (1806): © National Trust Images/John Hammond

Cotehele House, St Dominick
Saltash
PL12 6TA

T: 01579 352723
E: Rachel.Hunt@nationaltrust.org.uk

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Cotehele

Cotehele House, St Dominick
Saltash, CORNWALL PL12 6TA