A grand Georgian villa in Cornwall with grace, charm and its own waterfalls
Penny Churchill takes a look at Trethill House, near Torpoint in Cornwall, built by a student of Sir John Soane.


Oliver Custance-Baker of Strutt & Parker’s country department is handling the launch onto the market of elegant Grade II-listed Trethill House at Sheviock, near Torpoint, which sits in 35 acres of delightful gardens and grounds overlooking the Rame Peninsula between the sea and the Lynher River, a tributary of the Tamar.
Oliver quotes a guide price of £3m for the charming, late-Georgian villa, built between 1836 and 1840, then extended with a bay to the left in the later 19th century.
In the late 1700s, the Trethill estate was owned by Capt Samuel Wallis, a distinguished naval officer and Pacific Ocean explorer who made the first European landfall on Tahiti in June 1767. On Capt Wallis’s death in 1795, the estate passed to his cousin, Ann Wallis, who died in 1836, leaving the estate to her eldest son, the Revd Samuel Wallis, a gentleman scholar and founding fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. Wallis immediately commissioned the Plymouth-based architect George Wightwick, a former assistant to Sir John Soane, to build him a new villa in the picturesque Italianate style.
Trethill House offers more than 6,700sq ft of accommodation on two floors, including a reception hall, five impressive ground-floor rooms, including a drawing room and dining room with original fireplaces and far-reaching views over the grounds, a fine library, a sitting room and a study.
The kitchen boasts an Aga, modern integrated appliances and space for a large breakfast table. A substantial cellar could be developed into further accommodation if required.
Two staircases lead to the first floor, and six good double bedrooms, including the principal bedroom suite that has a large bathroom en suite, plenty of natural light and a balcony from which to admire the coastal views.
There are also three family bathrooms. Further accommodation is available in the detached coach house, which provides garaging, stabling and equestrian facilities on the ground floor, with a two-bedroom apartment on the first floor.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
The grounds combine beautiful landscaped gardens, meadows and lawns, mature woodland, streams and waterfalls — yes, waterfalls! — and a number of paddocks suitable for grazing or exercising horses.
A wide variety of flora and fauna includes more than 150 magnolias and a scattering of bluebells, interspersed with well-placed seating areas from which to admire the views.
Trethill House in Torpoint is for sale at £3m — see more pictures and details.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
Six rural properties with space, charm and endless views, as seen in Country Life
We take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Exploring the countryside is essential for our wellbeing, but Right to Roam is going backwards
Campaigners in England often point to Scotland as an example of how brilliantly Right to Roam works, but it's not all it's cracked up to be, says Patrick Galbraith.
By Patrick Galbraith Published
-
Six rural properties with space, charm and endless views, as seen in Country Life
We take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
By Toby Keel Published
-
380 acres and 90 bedrooms on the £25m private island being sold by one of Britain's top music producers
Stormzy, Rihanna and the Rolling Stones are just a part of the story at Osea Island, a dot on the map in the seas off Essex.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-
A home cinema, tasteful interiors and 65 acres of private parkland hidden in an unassuming lodge in Kent
North Lodge near Tonbridge may seem relatively simple, but there is a lot more than what meets the eye.
By James Fisher Published
-
A rare opportunity to own a family home on Vanbrugh Terrace, one of London's finest streets
This six-bedroom Victorian home sits right on the start line of the London Marathon, with easy access to Blackheath and Greenwich Park.
By James Fisher Published
-
A tale of everyday life as lived on Britain's most expensive street
Winnington Road in Hampstead has an average house price of £11.9 million. But what's it really like? Lotte Brundle went to find out.
By Lotte Brundle Last updated
-
Damon Hill's former home in Marbella is the perfect place to slow down
The glorious Andalusian-style villa is found within the Lomas de Marbella Club and just a short walk from the beach.
By James Fisher Published
-
A 327-acre estate in the heart of 'England’s Côte d’Or', with a 26,000sq ft Georgian style home at its heart
Stokes Hall in the Crouch Valley is an inspiring property looking for a new owner.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Schreiber House, 'the most significant London townhouse of the second half of the 20th century', is up for sale
The five-bedroom Modernist masterpiece sits on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
By Lotte Brundle Published