Trereife

The present owner of Trereife, Tim Le Grice, descends from the first member of his family to live in Cornwall, a certain Charles Valentine Le Grice who was a friend and contemporary of Coleridge and many of the other romantic poets of the early 19th century. He came from Norfolk where the family had lived for generations. He arrived at Trereife in 1798.

This figure remembered simply as ‘C.V.’ came to the house in order to take up his position, as Tutor to William Nicholls who it transpired was the last male member of the Nicholls family to live at Trereife. This was after a number of generations as there are records of the Nicholls family living at Trereife since before the 16th Century. Originally they were farmers and having increased their lands over the years they had assumed the role of minor gentry.

One interesting member of the family to live there was a certain Frank Nicholls who was born in 1699. It was his father John Nicholls who worked to such good effect as a Chancery Barrister in London that he was able to return after just 14 years and arrange for the Queen Anne front to be built on the back of the Elizabethan farmhouse. This great improvement was completed in 1708 when Nicholls was a boy growing up at Trereife. Subsequently he qualified as a Doctor and specialised as an Anatomist before becoming Court Physician to King George II.

A charming feature of the interior of the House are the plasterwork ceilings crafted by skilled Italian journeymen working in Cornwall in the early 1700’s. Working in the spirit of these Italian renaissance concepts, the parterre was designed as a series of arabesque interlocking beds laid out in Box, lined in Santolina and infilled with the vivid blue hue of horizontal Ceanothus.

The garden at Trereife benefits from having one of only five modern parterre gardens. Laid out in 1999 in time for the new millennium, the elaborate parterre was planned out by designer, Lyn Le Grice, to enliven the terrace adjacent to the Queen Anne front of 1904. Divided by a ‘ha ‘ha’ from the parkland if offered a spacious format and a chance of a fresh focus for the garden.

Visitor Opening TimesBack to top

Trereife will be open every Wednesday between the 5th May and 1st October 2011 from 11.00 until 4.00. Guided tours will take place at 2.30 and the cost of the tour is £7 for adults, £6 for concessions and children under 16, accompanied by an adult go free (complimentary tickets for bed and breakfast guests).

Please contact the property for up to date opening times

Groups and special visitsBack to top

Private tours of the house can be arranged for groups interested in the history of the house and the family. These tours are for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 30 people (more can be accomodated if the group is split into two).

Wedding FacilitiesBack to top

Civil Ceremony and Wedding Reception

The House may be used for a wedding ceremony with use of the two main rooms and hall (with additional room for Bride). Capacity is approx 60 seated guests plus a further twenty standing. Wedding Receptions for up to 200 guests can be held in Marquee available on the lawn in front of the House.Contact: Mr Tim Le Grice. Tel - 01736 362750, Fax - 01736 366690, E-mail - trereifepark@btconnect.com

AccommodationBack to top

For 2011, Trereife will be adding four newly refurbished bedrooms to complement our already exquisite reception rooms.

The rooms, named after C.V. Le Grice's poet freinds; Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey and Hazlitt, are unique, each with their own style and shape, yet each of a large size typical of a property of Trereife's age.

We also offer our guests the opportunity of staying in a self-catering flat in the converted stable block in the courtyard. This is available for week hire.