Mount Edgcumbe Fortified House

In the civil parish of Maker With Rame.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Fortified house constructed circa 1553, gutted in 1941 and rebuilt in 1959. Details of the original plan were recorded by E.M. Jope during its demolition prior to rebuilding and included round towers at the angles which were replaced by large octagonal towers during the late C18. A library wing was added in C19.

This site has been described as a Fortified Manor House;

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.

Nothing visible remains.

This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 61834)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX45305275

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 number; 437551

Books
- Rawlings, K.J., 1984, Defence Works Plymouth Area 1300-1983
  Pevsner, Nikolaus; revised by Enid Radcliffe, 1970, Buildings of England: Cornwall (Harmondsworth) p123
Journal Articles
- 1974, Cornish Archaeology Cornwall Archaeological Society Vol13 p71
  1958, Medieval Archaeology Vol2 p208
  1939, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol71 p179

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