The Great Hall window
576 panes rising two storeys, much of the glass original sixteenth-century work.
One window with 576 panes of glass, much of it sixteenth-century and never replaced: that is the real reason to come to Trerice. It climbs two storeys up the wall of the Great Hall and fills the room with the soft grey Cornish light no modern fitting can copy, and standing beneath it you realise that the house John Arundell built around 1572 has reached us almost untouched. Nobody has meddled much here: local stone under curling Dutch-style gables, carved fireplaces, an overmantel in the hall carrying the building date of 1572, and ornate plaster ceilings in the upstairs Great Chamber. Be clear from the outset that Trerice is a small country manor, not a palace. Anyone arriving with Lanhydrock's scale in mind will find it modest, and the whole house takes perhaps forty minutes. That smallness is the charm: no crowds, no queues, and National Trust volunteers in the rooms happy to talk about the oak furniture, the tapestries and the collection of longcase clocks. The garden in front is small too, an Elizabethan knot garden, an orchard of old Cornish apple varieties, and cottage borders and lawns that suit a sit-down and a picnic. With children the visit improves thanks to the kayling lawn, an old Cornish skittles game whose wooden pins and balls are left out for visitors to try, and the open grass around it to run on. Pushchairs manage the garden and cafe easily; inside the house a stone staircase leads to the upper floor with no lift. The cafe in the old barn does cream teas, cakes and light bites, and there is a second-hand bookshop in the undercroft. Trerice sits at Kestle Mill, about 5 km south-east of Newquay, ten minutes by car from the beaches and roughly 25 minutes from Truro in the middle of Cornwall. Parking is free, but the last stretch is narrow hedged lanes, so take it slowly. The route 93 Truro-Newquay bus stops on request at Kestle Mill, leaving about 1.2 km of uphill walking, so a car is the practical choice. The season runs roughly March to October: garden, shop and barn cafe open 10:30 to 16:30, while the manor house itself closes half an hour earlier at 16:00, so go into the house first. Winter opening is limited, so check the National Trust page before travelling. Admission is £15 for adults and £7.50 for children at the standard rate, or £16.50 and £8.30 if you add Gift Aid, and free for National Trust members; tickets are sold on arrival and no advance booking is needed.
576 panes rising two storeys, much of the glass original sixteenth-century work.
Ornate Elizabethan plasterwork over the upstairs reception room, the finest thing in the house.
An old Cornish skittles game left out for visitors to play; children like it more than the house.
Kestle Mill, Newquay TR8 4PG
Lanhydrock: far bigger, many more rooms, extensive gardens, and it justifies two to three hours. Trerice suits someone staying in Newquay who wants a quiet morning away from the beach, not someone driving in specially from far away.
For an hour, yes, thanks to the kayling, the lawns and the orchard; the house itself holds little for young children, and its stone staircase is no place for a pushchair.