Inside King Charles’s sixteenth-century house in Cornwall
In Cornish, Restormel means ‘king’s tower hill’, a place where one might imagine a king could sit at the summit of his estate, surveying his subjects below. Not so for King Charles III and Camilla, Queen consort, who have made Restormel Manor – nestled in the heart of the Fowey Valley and their official Cornish residence when they visit the county – into the hub of a thriving local concern, restoring business, hospitality and a spirit of community to the town of Lostwithiel.
The thirteenth-century Restormel Castle is now a magical ruin that rests upon on a Norman mound. It overlooks the manor, an elegant 1540s house that was restored in the eighteenth century. The River Fowey weaves its way past the crenellated façade and landscaped deer park.
Restormel Manor itself is very inviting. It does not feel grand – rather, the intimate living rooms are filled with comfortable sofas strewn with blankets, bookshelves bursting with novels waiting to be read and puzzles to be assembled. This is a house that has grown into itself. Wood-fired, salt-glazed vases made by local potters John Webb and Chris Prindl are filled with branches of oak found in the woods. Burnt red and moss green kilims made by Weaver Green are laid throughout. Based in Devon, this forward-thinking company has devised a technique of weaving from recycled plastic bottles that is in keeping with King Charles’s interest in sustainability; the result feels remarkably like wool. In the pretty wallpapered bedrooms, toes can sink into sheepskin rugs from Cornish specialists Celtic & Co.
‘His Royal Highness was extremely keen that this estate should be brought into the twenty-first century,’ said Annabel Elliot, the interior designer who is responsible for the relaxed yet refined decoration of the manor house and the cottages in the grounds. All have been furnished with an eclectic mix of British brands, stylishly combined with market finds, country antiques and the odd armchair upholstered in a vintage Moroccan textile. Annabel has the inside track on the royal couple’s taste, as she happens to be Camilla, the Queen consort's sister.
Such is the house’s place at the heart of the community that, when King Charles and the Queen consort are not in residence, the manor – which has both an indoor pool and a tennis court in its grounds – is available to rent as part of the Duchy Estate. The clever part is that the nine-bedroom manor – which sleeps 18 people – encompasses three separate wings and can therefore be divided into three parts, each with its own kitchen and entrance. The central part of the building is the most formal, with an airy sitting room and a large, elegant pale-blue dining room. The two outer wings have smaller sitting rooms. It allows the house to be transformed in a number of ways depending on what is required by each set of occupants.
Follow a Tolkien-esque lane out of Lostwithiel – the go-to town in south Cornwall for antique shops – its hedgerows bursting with honeysuckle, hawthorn, fennel, bluebells and buttercups, and you arrive at the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery. The beautifully designed barn-like building bears King Charles's coat of arms, and is made from cob, oak and timber sourced from the Duchy Estate.
Although the nursery had existed for around 50 years, it had to be rebuilt after the fire that destroyed the original building in 2005. King Charles’s intention was to build a place that would inspire and educate, as well as being ecologically sound. So, when it did reopen its doors in 2011, there was rainwater harvesting for the loos, biomass heating and natural springs for irrigation. In addition to supporting the local economy and providing much needed jobs, the aim is for the nursery to be inclusive – not just a shop and café but also a hub for the community. As well as horticultural workshops, there are talks on local history, a programme of children’s activities and, in summer, barbecues and weekend jazz festivals on the terrace.
Its entrance porch, overflowing with plants in terracotta pots, is enough to make anyone want to start shopping. The interior is a barn-like space with high ceilings and cross beams with baskets hanging from them. Below these, a gift shop offers everything from children’s toys, Cornish produce and gardening tools to lightweight bamboo plates perfect for taking to the beach.
Before reaching the terraces of locally grown plants, there is a café where visitors can enjoy locally sourced food – homemade bread, scones and cakes, fish pies and crab salads made from the daily catch. This is a thriving and evolving eco-system: the nursery is also working on a kitchen garden that will supply the café. The room opens onto a terrace lined with lavender, which looks out over the new bumble bee garden and across the valley to the castle. A pleasant 45-minute walking trail links the two spots.
As Karl Taylor, the Nursery’s general manager, observes, ‘There is a strong connection here between the landscape, the heritage, the plants and the food and drink we offer. Cornwall has to remain at the heart of what we do. The county is the epicentre of British horticulture, thanks to its temperate climate. No other county can quite compete with the garden riches of Cornwall.’ He cites the classic kitchen gardens at Heligan, re-created by the visionary Sir Tim Smit, or the grandeur of the Victorian planting at nearby National Trust house Lanhydrock. ‘Rather than competing with local growers, we are now increasingly supporting them by stocking as much as we can from the excellence around us.’ Indeed, there is a treasure trove of local plants and trees to be found here, from 10ft tree ferns to around 200 varieties of camellia, all grown in the county.
The reinvigoration of the Restormel estate has been a stylish twenty-first-century success for King Charles and a real breath of fresh air for the county. I should know, as I live five minutes away and am a regular visitor to the nursery, and friends of mine often rent the cottages with their families in the summer holidays. When my train from Paddington chugs its way slowly through the valley that leads up to the manor and I look out of the window at the familiar view welcoming me home, it occurs to me that this is indeed a jewel in Cornwall’s crown.
For details of Restormel Manor and the cottages available to rent, visit duchyofcornwallholidaycottages.co.uk. For information on the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery, visit duchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk
Paul Massey1/13Built in the 1540s and restored in the eighteenth century, Restormel Manor is an elegant house with a crenellated façade. It is divided into a central hub and two outer wings, each with its own entrance.
Paul Massey2/13Walls painted in a light blue by Sanderson are a calming backdrop for textiles in a variety of colours and patterns. These include ‘Merino Wool’ in turmeric by Lewis & Wood on the armchair and ‘Kentmere Check’ by Colefax and Fowler on the ottoman. The antique rug was bought at auction. The sofa on the right is covered in a Welsh blanket, with cushions in a selection of fabrics from Bennison. The large blue lamp on the table was originally a Spanish painted terracotta oil jar. Annabel found the painted panel behind, featuring flowers and birds of paradise, at an antique fair in Bath.
Paul Massey3/13The dining room in the central area features pale blue ‘Egerton’ wallpaper from Cole & Son. A nineteenth-century pine bookcase from Old Palace Antiques in the nearby town of Lostwithiel has been painted in ‘Shaded White’ by Farrow & Ball. The dining chairs are from Oka, and the tablecloth and curtains by Volga Linen.
Paul Massey4/13The furniture in this sitting room and study in the eastern wing of the house came from antique dealers across the West Country. The sofa is covered in a striped vintage Moroccan blanket.
Paul Massey5/13Annabel also furnished the cottages on the estate. In this kitchen, the English painted dresser is from Déjà-Vu Antiques in Lostwithiel. The Emeco ‘111 Navy Chairs’ are made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles.
Paul Massey6/13In this cottage bedroom, a headboard from a local salvage yard is paired with a quilt from The Romantic Englishwoman in Lostwithiel.
Paul Massey7/13In a bedroom in the main house, Cole & Son’s ‘Sweet Pea’ wallpaper complements a vintage bedcover. The sheepskin rug is from Celtic & Co.
Paul Massey8/13Annabel chose Farrow & Ball ‘Cooking Apple Green’ paint for this bathroom, which overlooks the Fowey Valley.
Paul Massey9/13Locally cultivated plants for sale at the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery near Lostwithiel include roses, cypresses and hydrangeas.
Paul Massey10/13A path leads to one of the stone cottages on the Restormel estate.
Paul Massey11/13Visible from both the manor house and the nursery, Restormel Castle is a picturesque thirteenth-century ruin on a Norman mound.
Paul Massey12/13Marguerite daisies, penstemon, trailing ivy, Japanese anemones, heather and grasses are displayed in crates on a cart outside the nursery, a building constructed using timber from the Duchy Estate.
Paul Massey13/13A secluded outdoor dining area at one of the cottages in the grounds of the manor house.
