Overgrown 14th Century Cornwall manor house which once hosted Edward the Black Prince and even has its own pottery studio goes on the market for £1.25million
A dilapidated Cornish manor house that once hosted Edward the Black Prince but is now rundown and overgrown has gone on the market for £1.25million.
Bossiney Court, which is on the outskirts of a Cornish village with the same name, is currently split into two cottages and also has a former pottery studio on its two-and-a-half-acre grounds.
The Grade II listed property was the original manor house of the borough and the Duchy Crest is carved above the main entrance and above a fireplace in one of the sitting rooms.
Edward the Black Prince, son of the Duke of Cornwall and heir to the English throne Edward III, is reputed to have stayed at the manor. Edward, who was born in 1330, was one of the most successful English commanders during the Hundred Years’ War with France.
And 200 years later, when Sir Francis Drake stood for parliament for the borough in 1583, he gave his election speech from Bossiney Mound – in front of Bossiney Court.
Bossiney Court then became a farmhouse before being split into two homes in the 17th century. The grounds, which are now overgrown, once featured a walled garden.
Bossiney Court (pictured) on the outskirts of a Cornish village with the same name is currently split into two cottages and also has a former pottery studio on its two-and-a-half-acre grounds
The Grade II listed property was the original manor house of the borough and the Duchy Crest is carved above the main entrance and on a fireplace surrounds in one of the sitting rooms
The building needs considerable restoration to make it habitable but could become a family home or lucrative holiday let. The village of Bossiney is close to Tintagel, the reputed home of King Arthur, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Lesley Lamley, from Millerson, which is handling the sale of the property, said Bossiney Bay ‘is stunning’ and is in walking distance. She said: ‘It would be a very lucrative spot given its closeness to Tintagel and a lack of holiday options there’
Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III and Duke of Cornwall, is reputed to have stayed at the manor
Each of the two cottages have a kitchen, dining room and sitting room on the ground floor, while upstairs one has three bedrooms and a bathroom and the other has two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Attached to the house is an annex that was used for staff, which could be reinstated to add more accommodation, or the estate could be remoulded into the grand manor it once was.
The large detached barn that housed Tintagel Pottery also has potential for conversion because it is set within its own gardens and boasts a private drive.
The run down building needs considerable restoration to make it habitable but could become a family home or lucrative holiday let, according to Millerson – the agent responsible for the sale.
The village of Bossiney is close to Tintagel, the reputed home of King Arthur, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tintagel Pottery was set up at the property by Kathleen Everard and Egil Cunningham Quam in 1950. Following their deaths it was taken over by Enid Mutton and her partner Roger Howard in the 1970s.
The pottery building contains the furnaces and other equipment and some of the pots made there are still in the storage rooms.
Lesley Lamley, from Millerson, which is handling the sale of the property, said: ‘The property is in need of major renovation. It’s currently split into two cottages and you could make one end into additional accommodation so you could have multigenerational living there.’
Each of the two cottages have a kitchen, dining room and sitting room on the ground floor, while upstairs one has three bedrooms and a bathroom and one has two bedrooms and a bathroom
The large detached barn that housed Tintagel Pottery could also have great potential for conversion, set within its own gardens and with a private drive
Tintagel Pottery was set up at the property by Kathleen Everard and Egil Cunningham Quam in 1950. It was taken over by Enid Mutton and her partner Roger Howard in the 1970s following the deaths of Everard and Quam. The pottery building still contains the furnaces and other equipment and the storage rooms still contain some of the pots that were made there
Ms Lamley added: ‘It also has this impressive former pottery studio. That started running in 1948 and all the workings are still there, the furnaces and things. There’s a number of garages and workshops which they used to store all the finished pottery.
‘It just has some lovely character and is just stunning when you walk around it. The property is in 2.5 acres, a lot of it is overgrown now but it did once have some formal walled gardens and you could bring that back to how it was.
‘The area has a lot of history with Tintagel, which you can walk to from there, and there’s Bossiney Bay, which is stunning. It desperately needs to be restored and could easily be converted into holiday lets. It would be a very lucrative spot given its closeness to Tintagel and a lack of holiday options there.
‘The property itself is Grade II listed and it was divided into two around the 17th century. It has some lovely character features – flagstone floors, exposed beams, fireplaces and sash windows. It could be really super when it’s been refurbished.’
WHO WAS THE BLACK PRINCE?
In this historical tableau of 1390, Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) is granted Aquitaine by his father King Edward III
Edward of Woodstock (1330 to 1376), described throughout history as the Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne.
He was the heir apparent to the English throne, but he died before his father, at the age of 45, so the prince’s son, Richard II, succeeded to the English throne instead, in 1377.
The Black Prince is thought to take his nickname either from his black armour or his brutal reputation – he is thought to have led a massacre of more than 3,000 soldiers at the Siege of Limoges in France in 1370.
He is mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays Richard II and Henry V. His key role in the Hundred Years’ War, among other events, has defined him as a contentious yet major historical figure of the Middle Ages.
The Black Prince is still vilified in some quarters in France to this day, as he ordered the massacre of 3,000 innocent people in the French town of Limoges during the Hundred Years War, according to a French chronicler.
His reputation was tarnished by the account of a French chronicler who said he ordered the massacre of 3,000 innocent people in the French town of Limoges during the Hundred Years War – although this has recently been contested.
On the Black Prince’s deathbed, the day before he died aged 45 of dysentery, he set down extraordinarily detailed directions for his tomb, asking to be shown ‘fully armed’ as if for war.
He demanded that his tomb was placed where everyone could see so that they would be moved to pray for ‘his rotting corpse’.
