Lanherne

In the civil parish of Mawgan In Pydar.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Convent which was the former house of the Arundell family, it is dated to C16 and includes an earlier building. Later additions can be dated to C17, C18 and C19 and include the chapel. The building consists of 2 parallel ranges with the inner range the earlier. Ditch remains on west side of house. The house was built by one of the earlier Arundells in whose family the Manor had been since 1231, when the marriage to Lady Alice Fulcar, heiress of Lanherne, the manor passed to Sir Remphrey Arundell.

This site has been described as a Fortified Manor House. A high status fortified residence not capable of withstanding an army but able to resist an armed band. They are generally moated and have a gatehouse with loops and crenellations. They tend to be sited with much less consideration for tactical and strategic defence and with domestic considerations, such as ease of access, to the fore. The difference between a small castles and a fortified manor house is a subjective one and may well be an artificial division in that for contemporary medieval citizens it may not have existed. David King did not use this term and preferred the term Strong House, since not all fortified high status houses were manorial, but use of his term Strong House has not been widely adopted possible because it is widely used as a synonym for bastle. Such buildings did not require a licence to crenellate and having a licence to crenellate does not mean a building was certainly fortified. However, I have recorded all buildings issued a licence to crenellate under this group since they clearly were at least intended to be [re]constructed in a fortified style.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.

Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 71101)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW87196591

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape

Books
- Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p47 [slight]
  Knowles, David and Hadcock, R Neville, 1971, Medieval religious houses in England and Wales (Longman) p476
  Henderson, Charles, 1925, The Cornish church guide and parochial history of Cornwall p134
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p360
Journal Articles
- Sheppard, P., 1978, Cornish Archaeology Vol17 p121-2

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

Lanherne

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW87196591

Sources of information, references and further reading