Menabilly

Menabilly ( , meaning hill-slope of pebbles) is a historic estate on the south coast of Cornwall, England, situated within the parish of Tywardreath on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey. It has been the seat of the Rashleigh family from the 16th century to the present day. The mansion house, which received a Grade II* listing on 13 March 1951, is early Georgian in style, having been re-built on the site of an earlier Elizabethan house, parts of which were possibly incorporated into the present structure. The house is surrounded by woodland and nearby is the farmhouse Menabilly Barton. In the Return of Owners of Land, 1873 Jonathan Rashleigh of Menabilly, Par, was listed as the largest landowner in Cornwall with an estate of or almost 4% of the total area of Cornwall.

Menabilly ( , meaning hill-slope of pebbles) is a historic estate on the south coast of Cornwall, England, situated within the parish of Tywardreath on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey. It has been the seat of the Rashleigh family from the 16th century to the present day. The mansion house, which received a Grade II* listing on 13 March 1951, is early Georgian in style, having been re-built on the site of an earlier Elizabethan house, parts of which were possibly incorporated into the present structure. The house is surrounded by woodland and nearby is the farmhouse Menabilly Barton. In the Return of Owners of Land, 1873 Jonathan Rashleigh of Menabilly, Par, was listed as the largest landowner in Cornwall with an estate of or almost 4% of the total area of Cornwall.

Description of house

The present house is of two storeys built around a central courtyard with a six-bay front on which the central 3 bays break forward. Philip Rashleigh (1729–1811) landscaped the gardens and planted the woodland around the house and estate. William Rashleigh, his nephew, succeeded after Philip's death in 1811, and following a fire in 1822 rebuilt the house greatly extended in size. Jonathan Rashleigh (1820–1905), improved and extended the gardens and grounds and planted many trees including pine, cedar, eucalyptus and beech. He also planted rhododendron, bamboo and hydrangea. John Rashleigh, grandson of Jonathan, succeeded in 1905 but rarely lived at Menabilly which thus fell into serious decay. In 1943 it was discovered in a dilapidated state by the new tenant, author Daphne du Maurier, who set about restoring it and made it her home before returning it to the Rashleighs in 1969.

Descent of estate

John Rashleigh (died 1582¹)

of Alice Lanyon (died 1591), wife of John I Rashleigh (died 1582), Fowey Church.]] John Rashleigh (died 1582), a merchant at Fowey in Cornwall in 1573 purchased from Christopher Copleston (died 1586) of Copleston in Devon, the estate of Menabilly, together with Treswethick, Trewrong and Penpol. He was the second son of Philip I Rashleigh (died 1551¹) of Fowey. He married Alice Lanyon (died 20 August 1591) (whose 1602 monumental brass survives in Fowey Church, ) daughter of William Lanyon by his wife Thomasine Tregian, daughter of Thomas Tregian.

Jonathan Rashleigh (1591–1675)

Jonathan Rashleigh (1591–1675), second son and heir, his elder brother John Rashleigh (1582 – May 1624), presumed insane, having died one month after their father, who left instructions in his will for his care to his second son, executor and heir Jonathan: "keep and maintain his brother John, allowing him a chamber, meat, drink, apparel and all other necessities and a servant continually to attend him". Jonathan was elected MP for Fowey in 1614, 1621 and 1625, and retained his seat until the start of the Civil War of 1641–1651 during which Menabilly was ransacked of livestock, furniture and stores. After the execution of King Charles I Jonathan was imprisoned at St Mawes Castle and his estate became bankrupt from the war and parliamentarian taxes. Jonathan's son John Rashleigh (1621–1651), MP for Fowey in 1661, pre-deceased his father, having married Joan Pollexfen and produced male issue, and thus after Jonathan's death in 1675 his heir was his grandson Jonathan Rashleigh (1642–1702).

Jonathan Rashleigh (1642–1702)

, of Menabilly, Sheriff of Cornwall 1686. (Previously thought to be his father-in-law Sir John Carew, 3rd Baronet (died 1692¹) of Antony). Painted c. 1685/90 by unknown artist of the English School. National Trust, Collection of Antony House, Cornwall.]] Jonathan Rashleigh (1642–1702), grandson, Sheriff of Cornwall in 1686/1687, and several times MP for Fowey, of whom a portrait exists at Antony House, Torpoint, Cornwall, the home of his second wife Jane Carew, daughter of Sir John Carew, 3rd Baronet (1635–1692) of Antony. After his death in 1702 the estate was inherited by his eldest son by his second wife Jane Carew, Philip II Rashleigh (1689–1736¹).

Philip Rashleigh (1689–1736)

Philip Rashleigh II (1689–1736) was the eldest son and heir of Jonathan Rashleigh (1642–1702) by his second wife Jane Carew. He served as MP for Liskeard 1710–1722. He rebuilt Menabilly circa 1710–1715. He was a supporter of the Jacobite Pretender. He died in 1736 without progeny.

William Rashleigh (1777–1855)

]] William Rashleigh (1777–1855), nephew, MP for Fowey 1812–1818, Sheriff of Cornwall in 1818. He was a member of the Church Missionary Society and built Tregaminion Chapel. In 1822 a fire broke out which led him to greatly extend the house. It was during these alterations, his architect noticed that the buttress against the north wall was not supporting anything and demolished it, whereupon steps were uncovered leading to a small cell where they found the body of a Cavalier, and following research discovered that certain members of the Grenville family of Stowe in Cornwall, had sought sanctuary from the Parliamentarian forces during the civil war. In 1816 he married secondly Caroline Hinxman, daughter of Henry Hinxman of Ivychurch, Wiltshire.

William Rashleigh (1817–1871)

William Rashleigh (1817–1871), eldest son by second marriage, JP, DL and MP for East Cornwall 1841–1847. He travelled in the Middle East and whilst in Egypt he met a sheikh in Cairo who on hearing the name Rashleigh asked if he knew Philip Rashleigh and told him that many years before as a prisoner of war in England Philip had invited him to Menabilly many times. In 1843 he married Hon. Catherine Stuart (died 1872¹), eldest daughter of the Scottish peer Robert Walter Stuart, 11th Lord Blantyre (1777–1830). He left no male progeny and was succeeded by his brother Jonathan Rashleigh (1820–1905).

Rashleigh baronets

In the 20th century Menabilly passed into the ownership of the Rashleigh baronets, descended from John Rashleigh (1742–1803) of Penquite, Cornwall, the fourth son of Jonathan Rashleigh (1690–1764) of Menabilly. The owner in 2013 was Sir Richard Harry Rashleigh, 6th Baronet (born 1958¹), who in 1996 married Emma Felicity Clare McGougan (1961–2013), by whom he has two children, formerly a secretarial assistant to prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Menabilly in the 21st century

Today Menabilly and most of the grounds remain private although three cottages on the estate are rented as holiday lets.

In popular culture

The house was the inspiration, along with Milton Hall, Cambridgeshire, for "Manderley", the house in du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938). Like Menabilly, the fictional Manderley was hidden in woods and could not be seen from the shore. Du Maurier's novel The King's General is also set here and features the skeleton found in the cellar.

Further reading

Rashleigh, E. W., Book of Pedigrees, Cornwall Record Office: RS/86 Marshall, James C., Rashleigh of Devon, Devon Notes & Queries, Vol. IV (1906/7), pp. 201–16

References

Sources

External links

Listed building text: Menabilly Archives of Rashleigh family of Menabilly, early 13th century to 1989, Cornwall Record Office R/3737 – R/5883

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1365369781 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.