Where: Cornwall
Who: National Trust
Trerice is an Elizabethan manor house situated in a quiet corner of Cornish countryside. The architecture is breathtakingly beautiful, especially when the stone of the building is bathed in soft sunlight. Dappled with the patina of age, this house speaks romantically of the passage of time whilst also evoking the Elizabethan past. One must remember, on seeing this house for the first time, just how strikingly modern it must once have seemed. The Dutch gables are some of the earliest surviving in this country; and the magnificent window to the Great Hall would have spoken of immense expense to contemporary visitors. Today the window rewards visitors not necessarily with a show of status, but with the charming and artistic manner in which it reflects the sunlight from outdoors and the view it offers to the beautiful gardens from indoors.
The house is a great sleeping beauty, and one whose delights speak for themselves. The interiors, whilst lovely, did feel a little muddled in their presentation. The guide book showed a picture of a beautifully furnished Great Chamber, but this is now stripped of its loans and undergoing conservation work. The interpretation showcasing the Trust's preventive conservation work provided a good substitute for visitors. However, combined with a Tudor-focused Great Hall and rooms upstairs furnished in a twentieth-century style, it did feel as though there were too many competing layers of interpretation. Perhaps slightly more coherent curation might benefit this house; but, ultimately, its intrinsic beauty is delightfully showcased and is well worth sampling.
Find out more: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/trerice/
