Port Eliot
{{Short description|Country house in St Germans, Cornwall, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Port Eliot
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = View of Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, England, seat of Lord Eliot, higher reso.jpg
| caption = Port Eliot and St Germans Church
| type =
| locmapin = Cornwall
| coordinates = {{coord|50.39706|-4.30931}}
| location = St Germans, Cornwall, England
| area =
| built =
| architect =
| architecture =
| governing_body =
| owner =
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = Port Eliot House
| designation1_date = 21 July 1951
| designation1_number = {{listed building England|1140516}}
| designation2 = Grade II*
| designation2_offname = Town Lodge
| designation2_date = 23 January 1968
| designation2_number = {{listed building England|1311300}}
| designation3 = Historic garden
| designation3_offname = Port Eliot
| designation3_date = 11 June 1987
| designation3_number = {{listed building England|1000426}}
}}
Port Eliot in the parish of St Germans, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans.
Port Eliot comprises a stately home with its own church, which serves as the parish church of St Germans. An earlier church building was Cornwall's principal cathedral. The house is within an estate of {{convert|6,000|acres|ha|adj=on}} which extends into the neighbouring villages of Tideford, Trerulefoot and Polbathic. Both house and garden are Grade I listed.{{cite web|title=Port Eliot: House and Gardens|url=http://www.porteliot.co.uk/}}
Image:Port Eliot - Main Entrance - geograph.org.uk - 1127095.jpg
History
Originally built as a priory with adjoining St Germans Priory Church, parts of the house date back to the 12th century. It was substantially altered and remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries by noted architects, including Sir John Soane.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Eliot family invested substantially in the estate, building numerous farmhouses, fishermen's cottages and other dwellings across the land. Many of these remain part of the estate to this day, and they are rented out to local residents and friends of the family. Some properties, mainly lying remote from the estate, have been sold in recent years. In 2014, the 700-hectare estate was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall.
Festivals
=Elephant Fayre=
{{main|Elephant Fayre}}
In 1980 a small festival which had outgrown its site at Polgooth in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds. The estate office agreed a price, and there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s. The festival ran from 1981 to 1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, and featured a mix of music, theatre and visual arts.
Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as The Cure, The Fall and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders in 1985 prompted Lord Eliot and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last.
=Port Eliot Festival=
In 2003 Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans began the Port Eliot Lit Fest in Cornwall.{{cite web|title=Port Eliot Lit Fest|url=http://www.porteliotfestival.com/}} Which carried on as Port Eliot Festival until 2019.{{Cite web|date=2019-07-23|title=The final Port Eliot Festival|url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2019-07-25/the-last-port-eliot-festival-kicks-off-today|access-date=2021-11-09|website=ITV News|language=en}}
Public access
In March 2008 the house and grounds opened to the public for the first time,{{cite news|title=Doors opened at the treasure house History tumbles forth as Eliot family unveils Cornish home and gardens as a requirement of tax deal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/mar/03/heritage.art|newspaper=Guardian | location=London|first=Maev|last=Kennedy|date=3 March 2008}} for 100 days, and attracted 12,000 visitors. There is a shop and cafe with gardens open all year round. Guided tours of the house are available.
Gallery
Port Eliot 1.jpg
Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, England, seat of Lord Eliot 1.jpg
St. Jermain (49641630702).jpg
Postcard St. Germans and Port Eliot Cornwall, seat of Lord Eliot 2.jpg
View of Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, England, seat of Lord Eliot 1.jpg
References
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category}}
External links
- [http://www.porteliot.co.uk/ Port Eliot Official Website]
- [http://www.porteliotfestival.com/ Port Eliot Festival]
- [http://www.artytechs.com/litfest/archivelitfest.htm Port Eliot LitFest Archive]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4103468.stm BBC News on the Elephant Fayre]
{{coord|50|23|50|N|4|18|33|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=t}}
Category:Grade I listed buildings in Cornwall
Category:Country houses in Cornwall
Category:Tourist attractions in Cornwall
Category:Historic house museums in Cornwall