Hidden History
The 700 year history of the Edgcumbe family whose name came to be used for the estate on the Rame Peninsula from which the country park was created is replete with fascinating stories. Much of this rich history has yet to be comprehensively explored by historians, perhaps not least because of the catastrophic loss of documents when Mount Edgcumbe House was burnt to a shell after being hit by an incendiary bomb during the Second World War.
On these pages we will be featuring tales from this hidden history, shedding light on where the family derived its great wealth, describing when and how they created the designed landscape that was so highly praised for centuries. We shall tell the tale of the Panorama painting an 8.5m 360˚ art work created at the time of the greatest threat of invasion since the Armada of 1588. We shall feature the assiduous work the man who has traced to trace the existence of more 20,000 individuals bearing the family name on three continents. We shall describe all the historic features the park contains and the reasons why it has the highest grading possible with Historic England. And much, much more.
Mining - a great source of wealth for the Edgcumbes
The Edgcumbe family prospered hugely from the mining industry that came to play such a big role in Cornwall and Devon from the 13th century onwards. Not only did the family earn revenue from owning the land on which mines were dug, they also supplied the timber necessary for the infrastructure of the mines and for heating the furnaces to allow for the processing of the ore. Further income was generated by ownership the transport system and by control of the Stannary Courts, through which all the ore had to pass for weighing and taxation.
The prodigious wealth that the Edgcumbes earnt from mining rested upon the labour of the men and women working in the mines. The men working down the shafts toiled for long hours in appalling and highly dangerous conditions. Above ground, women were paid a pittance for processing the ore – usually working 9 hour days, 6 days a week in all weathers.