Cotehele stands just on the Cornwall side of the river Tamar that forms the boundary with Devon. The estate was the ancient seat of the Edgcumbes, but by the 18th century it was a secondary residence, with the family preferring nearby Mount Edgcumbe, overlooking Plymouth Sound. On high ground above the house at Cotehele stands this solitary three-sided tower, of which little seems to be known. No inscriptions give even a hint of its history.
Cornwall
Happy New Year
The Folly Flâneuse was recently introduced to a fascinating periodical called The Heaton Review. It was produced in Bradford from 1927-1934 and featured a miscellany of words and pictures: the 1934 edition included, amongst much more, writing by G.K. Chesterton, Kenneth Grahame and Dorothy Una Ratcliffe and illustrations by Jacob Kramer and Richard Eurich.
As is so often the case with vintage magazines, the advertisements are as interesting as the articles. With the new year imminent, the flâneuse spotted a page which suggested an excellent plan for 2023:
Pentillie Mausoleum, Saltash, Cornwall
In the early years of the 18th century Sir James Tillie updated his will and included a rather mysterious instruction about his last resting place. He was to be interred ‘in such a place at Pentillie Castle as I have acquainted my dearest Wife the Lady Elizabeth Tillie with.’
The Storm Tower, Bude, Cornwall
Overlooking the sea at Bude, in Cornwall, stands an elegant little tower. It was first built in the 1830s, but after being battered by the elements it was rebuilt a little inland fifty years later. The erosion of the cliffs on which it stands means that the Storm Tower is again under threat, and it must once more be dismantled and moved to safety.
A Sham Sepulchre in Rome, & three more at home (& a detour to Brussels)
The fact that a building in the Albano hills above Rome has been known since the 18th century as the ‘so called’ mausoleum of the Horatii and Curiatii speaks volumes: it was in fact constructed on the Appian Way centuries after the legendary rival Horatii and Curiatii triplets are said to have battled for their pride and people. But the legend and the sham sepulchre must have made an impression: back home in England it inspired at least three monuments in landscape gardens.