Once in a lifetime chance to buy an epic home in Cornwall, but there’s a huge catch

Now’s your chance to buy a once in a lifetime property, but it’s a bit of a fixer-upper. So if you don’t have DIY skills or unlimited funds, it probably isn’t for you

A ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to buy an epic home in Cornwall has arrived – but there’s a major catch.

Trehane Manor has been described as one of the Southwest County’s “most awe-inspiring” estates and it’s easy to see why, as the sprawling and majestic grounds house a historic manor house.

It was sold by upscale real estate agents Lillicrap Chilcott, and it’s definitely a fixer-upper as it has no windows, doors, or even a roof Cornwall Live Reports.

In reality it needs a complete restoration, but when it’s done you’ll be sitting on a mansion of considerable size just three miles east of Truro.

What do you think of the property? Let us know in the comments…

The description of the sale reads: “An exceptional five acre site in a magical and private setting comprising the ruins of a Grade II listed Queen Anne mansion and detailed planning permission for its reconstruction to create one of Cornwall’s finest most beautiful country houses. An unrivaled and unrepeatable opportunity in a blissful yet extremely favorable location.”

Trehane Manor, which stands on private property nearby Probus and Tresilianwas left to decay after a fire in 1946, but before that its gardens were among the best in Cornwall after 200 years of cultivation.

The history of the Trehane estate dates back to the 13th century and is mentioned in the Tudor period when Sir John Trehane appears on the list of soldiers who would have fought in the event of the Armada landings.

In 1700 then-owner John Williams began building a new house for his wife and family, which was completed three years later.

The house passed into the family line and in 1861 came into the hands of Captain William Stackhouse Church Pinwill, who was a serving officer in the Indian Army and did not return to Trehane until 1868.

Capt Pinwill was very interested in natural history and was grateful to his brother-in-law, the Archdeacon of Bombay, for sending plants to Cornwall for the gardens of Trehane.

In her fascinating book Vanished Houses of Cornwall, Rosemary Lauder writes that Pinwill was considered one of the leading gardeners in the duchy in his day.

An index he compiled lists 4,500 plants and in 1914 he was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honor by the Royal Horticultural Society. Trehane was known for its rare species, many of which were first cultivated in this country.

Trehane was confiscated just before World War II, and Austrian Jews fleeing the Nazis stayed at the house in makeshift huts on the site – one of which has been restored by the property’s current owners.

US soldiers were later stationed at the property in preparation for the D-Day landings in June 1944.

A Major Anthony Deakin next owned the property and during renovations in 1946 a plumber unknowingly set fire to the interior attic. The fire spread quickly and the entire roof and floors were destroyed. Firefighters were only able to save most of the walls and two of the four chimneys

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The house was purchased in 1962 by David Trehane who, notably despite his surname, had no connection to the property. The ruins were beyond salvage but Mr Trehane did everything he could to ensure the gardens were of a high standard before selling the property to the current owners.

There is no public access to Trehane. The ruins are said to be unstable and highly dangerous.

According to a listing from Historic England: “Destructed by fire in 1946. roofless walls preserved. Red brick in English and Flemish bindings and Pentewan stone facings. Originally double floor plan with a central patio. 2 floors. 7 window fronts to the north, south and east.

“The main east front has an oval shaped base, central entrance, shallow Pentewan stone arches to unframed window openings.

Molded Pentewan stone window sills and plain band on ground floor. 4 huge brick pilasters. 1 original sliding rear window with thick ovolo-shaped glazing bars. 2 axial walls with high brick stacks forming the north side of the east garden.

“The layers of brick are laid on a slope of land that slopes gently on the east side.”

The sale has garnered a bit of interest on social media, with writer Fiona Campbell-Howes tweeting, “‘Once in a lifetime restoration opportunity’ might be *a bit* of an exaggeration…but you get some smokestacks…”

Offers over £600,000 for the house and grounds are welcome.

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