Tregothnan is a country house and estate near the village of St Michael Penkivel, southeast of Truro, Cornwall, England, which has for many centuries been a possession of the Boscawens. Geography Location Tregothnan is located on a hill overlooking an inlet of the Truro River. It includes many varied grounds and wooded areas beyond the immediate environs of the house. History The house and estate is the historic seat of the Boscawen family, Viscounts Falmouth. Tregothnan was acquired in 1334 (or 1335) by John de Boscawen when he married the heiress, Joan de Tregothnan. The medieval house then had a courtyard plan with a prominent gate-tower. The original medieval house was ransacked in the 17th century during the English Civil War. The new house was built after 1650. This building was visited and described by Celia Fiennes, a cousin of Hugh Boscawen, the builder. In the 18th century, the house was the home of Admiral Edward Boscawen. In 1818, the house was enlarged by William Wilkins for the fourth Viscount Falmouth and in 1845–48 Lewis Vulliamy rebuilt it for the second Earl of Falmouth. In 1872 the land holdings of Viscount Falmouth, of Mereworth Castle, Maidstone, Kent, were listed in the top ten land holdings in Cornwall, with an estate of , 3.41% of the total area of Cornwall. Tregothnan is still managed by the Boscawen family today. Description The house is mainly the work of William Wilkins (the rebuilding of 1816–18) and Lewis Vulliamy (the enlargement of 1845–48). Wilkins adopted an East Anglian Tudor Gothic style of great picturesqueness and the project retained parts of the medieval house; however Vulliamy's enlargement involved the removal of what remained of the medieval house. Gardens Tregothnan is famous for its large private botanical garden and arboretum, which are not open to the public. Guided visits to the garden may be arranged. A tea plantation was started on the grounds in 1999. Tregothnan was home to the first outdoor camellias in the UK, around 1800. The first commercial tea was developed from Camellia sinensis, the "Chinese tea plant", in 2001. The first 'English tea' was then sold in November 2005 to Fortnum & Mason of Piccadilly. The Tregothnan Estate plans on marketing a brand-named tea house franchise called Festival of Tea, to be opened as far afield as China. The first tea plants were established in the Kitchen Garden in 1999 although the