Family history

1204 - A ferry crossing between Devon and Cornwall since Medieval times.

1352 - William Edgcumbe m. Hilaria de Cotehele = Peter and William (= Richard = Piers).

1485 - Richard Edgcumbe knighted at the Battle of Bosworth.

1493 - Sir Piers Edgcumbe m. Joan Durnford =Richard (= Piers). Her dowry included land both sides of the mouth of the Tamar River.

1515 - King Henry VIII granted Piers permission to empark deer.

1547 - Sir Richard (son of Piers) Commenced the building of Mount Edgcumbe House.

1588 - The arrival of the Spanish Armada was signalled to Plymouth from St.Michaels Chapel on Rame Head in July.

1644 - Colonel Piers (son of Richard) = Richard. A Parliamentary attack led by Captain Haynes during the Civil War. Piers did capitulate to the Parliamentary leader Fairfax in the following year and so succeeded in the difficult task of keeping his family's estates intact.

1742 - Richard (son of Richard) 1st Baron = Richard 2nd Baron and George 3rd Baron.

1750 - Work commenced on the construction of the Formal Gardens on the site of the former Wilderness Garden.

1779 - A fleet of 80 French and Spanish ships sailed into Cawsand Bay. 100 ancient oak trees felled to make room for fortifications on Maker Heights and at Cremyll.

1789 - George Edgcumbe (3rd Baron) Granted an Earldom by George III = Richard (2nd Earl).

1839 - Ernest Augustus 3rd Earl = William Henry (4th Earl) = Piers (5th Earl).

1944 - Piers died - no children Kenelm became 6th Earl = Piers. Kenelm's Grandfather was George, brother to the 3rd Earl.

1940 - Piers Edgcumbe (only son of Kenelm). Killed at Dunkirk.

1941 - Mount Edgcumbe House gutted by fire caused by enemy action.

1944 - 110th Field Artillery of the 29th Infantry Div. US Army left from Barn Pool beach for the D-Day landings in Normandy.

1947 - Cotehele given to the National Trust in lieu of taxation.

1958 - Restoration of Tudor mansion commenced.

1965 - Kenelm died Edward Piers 7th Earl (no children). Edward's (formerly NZ) Great Grandfather was George, brother of the 3rd Earl.

1971 - 865 acres sold to Cornwall County and Plymouth City Councils with the House leased to the family.

1982 - Robert Charles became 8th Earl. Robert's father was brother to Edward Piers.

1987 - Lease relinquished and work of refurbishment commenced.

1988 - House opened to the public on a regular basis.

Further details available in the Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park Guide Book or for Edgcumbe Family History contact the "Edgcombe Family Genealogy and History". Editor: A J C Taylor, 60 Ashley Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7HB or email alan@efgh.freeserve.co.uk.

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