Caerhays Castle, St Michael Caerhays, United Kingdom

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.

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Palaces, manors and town halls in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Gen H. (2 years ago)
I stayed in the rabbit warren. The castle is beautiful, the grounds are beautiful and the rabbit warren is very comfortable. There's beautiful views. It is very secluded and the drive can be scary for those who don't know the area, but that just makes it more special. Sometimes the cows will block the way out but you can take al alternative route out, it just takes longer.

geoff longden (2 years ago)
Castle was closed but beach bar was going great guns with excellent food plus beer, often hosting music concerts, going again Tuesday evening

Chris Usborne (2 years ago)
What a great location, the Estate includes Porthluney beach - a local favourite and dog friendly too! We had a lovely walk through the grounds with our cockerpoo, enjoying the rhododendrons and azaleas in full bloom, beautiful. The main house, or is it a castle, overlooks the beach where we subsequently went for a few hours of sunshine and fun in the sand(for the dog) at low tide. A memorable day and all reasonably priced. Note - pay for the car park and get it re-inbursed when you get tickets for the grounds, then go back and enjoy he beach as we did. Good local food outlets there too, both at the estate and on the beach car park. Bit of a narrow drive to get there, but well worth the effort. A great day out.

Shell Wright (2 years ago)
Off the beaten track but worth the visit. Beautiful gardens to wander around. Only down side was a lack of Gluten Free meals available at the cafe.

David W (2 years ago)
Fabulous place, the gardens are wonderful. It was a very poor day weather wise, but the garden colours were still vibrant. A very inte resting place.

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