Prideaux Place

Prideaux Place is an Elizabethan house with extensive grounds and a deer park, high above Padstow, Cornwall, with views over the Camel Estuary. The deer park is believed to be the oldest in Britain and has been dated back to its enclosure by the Romans in 435AD.

During the Reformation the church's control of Padstow ceased when the ownership of their lands was transferred  to the Crown. In 1538 Bodmin Priory was dissolved and in 1544 it was sold by the King to his contractor who quickly sold on Padstow Manor to Nicholas Prideaux Esq. In 1560 Nicholas was succeed by his nephew Roger Prideaux whose son and successor Sir Nicholas Prideaux built Prideaux Place on the site of Padstow Grange in 1581. For over 400 years Prideaux Place has remained the home of the Prideaux-Brune family and is filled with the treasures that they have accumulated during this time.

The first exact records of the gardens are drawings by Edmund Prideaux in the 1730s. The Gardens and pleasure grounds associated with a country house were then laid out in the 1730s and 40s, and further developed in the 1750s. At the end of the 18th century the house was substantially enlarged, in 1799 a Gothic wing and the Library were added. The gardens were again added to in the early 19th. Century.

Features of the garden include: The Formal 18th century gardens laid out in Italian style, a classical temple, an obelisk, a grotto and a small stone arbour display with Roman antiquities including Roman funerary urns whose inscriptions date them to around 50 AD, a 9th Century Cornish Cross and a quarry garden. There has been significant landscaping of the garden with hedged walks leading down from the entrance and views to the Camel estuary and across to Bodmin Moor.

A massive restoration of the grounds is now underway to restore this ancient garden to its former glory. Tom Petherick, who worked in the restoration of Heligan garden, is now helping to clear and replant many areas of the garden. Major projects have involved the woodland walks being re-opened after 60 years, a newly planted lime avenue and restoration of the Formal Garden.