.png)
CORNWALL
C1770. An early Shell Seat, open, roofed, with large brain corals at the base. It was fashioned by the owner, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. The Picturesque Gardens run down to Plymouth Sound and contain many Classically inspired buildings. Today it is a Public Park.
This picturesque estate( now a Public Park) overlooks Falmouth Bay and was owned by the Rev. Coope. The Shell Seat and Grotto were built in 1837 and decorated by his daughters. Exotic shells were collected from trading ships at the nearby Carrick Roads Port and Custom Key House.
Ince Castle,
Saltash
The owners Lord and Lady Alice Lennox Boyd created and decorated the hexagonal Shell House in 1964. The thousands of exotic shells and minerals were collected from generations of travel around the world. A superb compendium of each shell type has been produced by their daughter Arabella.
The Garden was begun in 1997 by Dr Neil Armstrong. Local architects have designed various structures that include a Temple with domed sky-space and a Camera Obscura. They are surrounded by a naturally flowing landscape of exotic plants and views towards Michael’s Mount.
The restored Lost Gardens of Heligan were unveiled to the public in 1992. The Victorian pleasure gardens were laid out over almost two centuries ago and among the winding paths is a small grotto among the rockery and tree ferns. Nearby is a wishing well.
Carn Euny is an ancient village in West Cornwall which was abandoned AD400. It is owned by English Heritage and is one of the best preserved ancient villages in south-west England
Holy Well,
Sancreed
Holy Well and Hermitage set above the hamlet. Now derelict, but still a place of communion and prayer’
The garden was begun in 1834 and the Shell Seat added after the Great Storm of 1987 by its creator Lucy Dorrien- Smith. Sited on a high terrace with the ruined Abbey nearby it provides the visitor with panoramic views of the garden. Only native shells from the Scillies have been used in the Italianate decoration.