Caerhays Castle is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808, south of the village centre, St Michael Caerhays, Cornwall. In the Early Middle Ages, the manor belonged to the Arundell family. The earliest record of the name is Karihaes in 1259.
John Bettesworth-Trevanion built the present castle on a site close to the former manor house between 1807 and 1810; his architect was the Anglo-Welsh John Nash. The castle was built close to the site of the original ancient home that had itself undergone expansion during the reign of King Henry VIII.
The exterior, bearing the appearance of a Norman castle, was built of rough stone quarried from the immediate neighbourhood. The front entrance has a southern exposure and is elevated on an embattled terrace. The principal rooms toward the south and east, joined by a large gallery room. Painted glass adorns the windows of the dining room, staircase, and entrance hall. Parts of the original manor remain, including the ancient chapel as well as an old walkway to the sea which retains the name of the Watchhouse Walk.
The castle's garden covers almost 120 acres (0.49 km2), traversed by four named routes, and navigated by trails, grassy paths, and steps. The garden is home to 600 varieties of plants, including trees and shrubs, such as azaleas and camellias.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.