Godolphin House
The Godolphin House is a manor from the Tudor - and Stuart -time and is located between Townshend and Godolphin Cross near Helston in the county of Cornwall in England . The building that can be visited today is the remainder of a much larger complex that was the seat of the Godolphin family until the mid-18th century . The Godolphins, whose wealth came from local tin mining , were one of Cornwall's leading families. The property is now owned by the National Trust .
history
Until the middle of the 16th century the building consisted of three wings, which enclosed a courtyard by a north wall. Sir William Godolphin, an officer in the service of King Henry VIII , made some changes to the house which were carried on by Sir Francis Godolphin, Governor of the Isles of Scilly . The final north wing, now the entrance area, was probably added in 1630 by his son William. The building reached its heyday in the 17th century and comprised around 100 rooms.
William Godolphin's grandson Sidney was Lord High Treasurer of Queen Anne from 1702 to 1710 and was responsible for funding the Duke of Marlborough's wars . He was made Earl of Godolphin and his son Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin , married a daughter of Marlborough. The 1st Earl spent little time at Godolphin House and the 2nd Earl even less. After his death in 1766, the family seat went to Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds , whom his daughter and heir Mary had married.
In 1805, a significant part of the building complex was demolished and Godolphin House became a simple farmhouse. In 1929 John Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds, sold the house. In 1936 the property was acquired by the Schofield family, who partially restored the building, but were dependent on funding and donations. In 2007 the National Trust took over the building and garden.
The north wing consists of a colonnade with Doric columns , above a facade with windows from the 17th century. An entrance gate, dated 1575 and belonging to the original north wall, leads through the colonnade into the courtyard. The east and west wings survived demolition in the early 19th century. The windows in the east wing date from 1530, those in the west wing from the early 17th century. Only the front window wall and the Gothic portal of the southern extension have been preserved.
The rooms in the east and west wings, including a large hall, have been restored and furnished with old furniture and tapestries . Some of the furniture is still owned by the Godolphins, others have been bought.
The rooms above the colonnades in the north wing still have to be extensively restored. Godolphin House also has extensive farm buildings and restored stables from the time of Elizabeth I. Remnants of the medieval gardens are on the east side of the building.
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Coordinates: 50 ° 8 '16.3 " N , 5 ° 21' 30.9" W.