Historic house and gardens given to heritage trust

6 hours ago

Jonathan Morris,South Westand

Emma Gill,Cornwall

News image — Nancealverne House has been given to the Cornwall Heritage Trust

The Armstrong Family The picture shows a large Georgian country house built from pale stone, set back behind a wide, neatly cut green lawn. The house is symmetrical and two storeys high, with a central white front door and evenly spaced sash windows on either side and above. The roof is shallow and slate‑coloured, with chimneys visible at either end. In the foreground, the lawn stretches right up to the front of the building — Nancealverne House has been given to the Cornwall Heritage Trust

A historic Grade II* listed Georgian country house opening a new chapter after being given to Cornwall Heritage Trust.

Nancealverne House, near Penzance, will officially pass into the charity's ownership at the beginning of May, with the aim of opening it to the public in 2027, project leaders said.

Cornwall Heritage Trust chief executive Cathy Woolcock said the offer came as a surprise late last year and it was the first house to be taken on by the trust.

Owner Kester Armstrong said it was "time to pass the baton on".

Christian Michael The picture shows two people standing side by side in the open doorway of a large, traditional house. The doorway is painted white and made up of multiple glass panes. Both people are standing on a stone step, facing the camera. One person is wearing a long, patterned dress with a light‑coloured cardigan. The other person is wearing a dark jacket, a light shirt and bright red trousers. — Diana and Kester Armstrong on the steps of Nancealverne

The decision to hand over the house follows decades of work.

Armstrong said: "My wife Diana and I have put 25 years into restoring and renovating the house since I inherited it upon the death of my father.

"We have reached a point in our lives where we feel it's time to pass the baton on.

"We were always interested in the idea of making a gift of the house to the community, but it was very difficult to find just quite the right fit for it."

The Cornwall Heritage Trust felt right straight away, he added.

The Armstrong Family The picture shows a grand entrance hall inside a historic house, dominated by a sweeping staircase covered in deep red carpet. The staircase curves gently upwards to the left, with polished wooden banisters and spindles, and continues to a landing above. On the right-hand wall, there is a very large oil painting in a gilt frame showing two seated figures. — The trust is to ask people how they want Nancealverne House and its gardens to be used

Woolcock said she first received an email from Armstrong last November "that was talking about a house near Penzance".

She said: "I remember feeling overwhelmed. I also remember feeling a real warmth from Kester and Diana, who were so welcoming, but also incredibly excited, because the opportunity to be involved with Nancealverne is something that I didn't really ever expect in my career."

She described the moment staff were finally able to talk about it publicly as a relief because "you're bursting to talk about it all the time".

The trust, which owns about 20 other historic and archaeological sites around Cornwall, plans consultation days in July to ask local people how they want the house and gardens to be used, from events to volunteering.

A number of Armstrong family members were some of the earliest tin mining entrepreneurs in Cornwall in the 1700s. Two family members fought with Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

Armstrong said he hoped the house, which sits in 20 acres (9 hectares) of gardens and parkland, would be full of life.

"I feel very excited as a resident of West Cornwall for myself going forward and for my children to discover a new part of Penzance," he said.