| Antony House overlooks the River Lynher on a peninsula with
the Lynher to the north, the River Tamar to the east and the sea to the
south. The estate was owned by the Carew family (one of the leading Cornish
gentry families), from 1432 until 1961 when the house and gardens were given
to the National Trust in 1961 by Sir John Carew Pole. The Carew Pole Garden
Trust still owns the adjoining woodland garden. The house was built between
1711 and 1721 for Sir William Carew and, with exception of a 19th century
porch, has remained unaltered since that time. It consists of a central
two-storey block faced in silver-grey Pentewan stone with two brick wings.
The gardens were landscaped by the famous Georgian garden designer Humphry
Repton in the late 18th century but have continued to be developed over
the centuries by the Carew family who still occupy the property under a
lease from the National Trust. The garden hosts the national collection
of day-lilies (Hemerocallis), some 610 specimens. There are many species
of indigenous and exotic trees and a collection of camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons,
magnolias and other flowering shrubs. Also of note are the 18th-century
dovecote, the 1789 Bath Pond House, a collection of stone carvings from
the North West Frontier of India and a temple bell from Burma brought back
to Antony House by General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew. |
