Ref: LCAA7367 Offers over £695,000

The Tower House, Zennor, Nr. St Ives, FREEHOLD

The Tower House is believed to have been rented by D. H. Lawrence and his wife around 1915 and is now available for sale for the first time in almost a quarter of a century. Set in an elevated position with exceptional and far reaching views over the coastline and out to sea. An acutely desirable detached two storey granite house set in lovely coastal gardens with driveway, garage and workshop. In a grandstand position in some of the most desirable, scenic and picturesque coastline in Cornwall. 2 Ref: LCAA7367

SUMMARY OF ACCOMMODATION

Ground Floor: gabled entrance lobby, cloakroom, triple aspect kitchen/dining room, triple aspect living room.

First Floor: 3 bedrooms, wet shower room/wc.

Outside: lovely secluded coastal gardens bordering farmland to one side and with superb views, detached garage and workshop. Off-road driveway parking.

THE HISTORY

‘At Zennor one sees infinite Atlantic, all peacock mingled colours and the gorse is sunshine itself. Zennor is a most beautiful place: a tiny granite village nestling under high shaggy moor hills and a big sweep of lovely sea beyond, such a lovely sea, lovelier even than the Mediterranean….. It is the best place I have been in, I think’ – D. H. Lawrence, 1916.

The Tower House has a rich and interesting history and is originally believed to date from the 1600s.

Between 1915 and 1917 the cottage was rented by D.H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda. At the time the house was known as Tregerthen Cottage until its name changed sometime between 1975 and 1978.

3 Ref: LCAA7367 Lawrence arrived in Cornwall in December 1915 after a rather tempestuous year. His novel The Rainbow, was prosecuted for obscenity by the Public and Morality Council and over 1000 books were destroyed on the orders Bow Street magistrates.

Only recently married the Lawrence’s had intended to return to Italy but the outbreak of war stymied the plan and they moved to Cornwall instead. Lawrence’s wife Frieda was a cousin of the German pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen – known as the Red Baron – and that combined with his very vocal opposition to the war made some of the locals turn against him. Lots of rumours surrounded Lawrence and his wife – they stocked petrol for German submarines at the bottom of the cliffs near the cottage, the patterns on the cottage chimney and washing hung on the line were signals for patrolling submarines!

To exacerbate this, they were both apparently often heard signing German songs as they walked the cliff paths and on one occasion they were stopped and searched by a military patrol.

In 1917 they were accused of signalling to submarine crews in the channel using lights and in October of that year they received an order to leave the county, under the Defence of the Realm Act.

Continuing with this literary pedigree The Tower House was owned by Sir Michael Morpurgo – famed author and Children’s Laureate. Probably his most well known work is War Horse which was adapted for the big screen and enjoyed box office success and was directed by Steven Spielberg.

DESCRIPTION

The Tower House is situated down a well maintained tarmacadam lane which is shared with its neighbours.

This lane is situated off the B3306 coastal road between St Ives and Zennor. This coastal highway is one of the most dramatic Cornish roads with beautiful, wild countryside to one side and the rugged, gorgeous coastline and sea to the other – views stretch for miles and this is a most fitting approach to The Tower House. From the coastal highway the lane meanders down to the house with lovely views over the coastal vista.

The striking mixed stone elevations sit under a slate roof and what is immediately noticeable are the unusually large windows. 4 Ref: LCAA7367

The main entrance is through a gabled lobby to the side of the house and this doubles as a utility area with a separate cloakroom/wc.

From the lobby, access is into the kitchen/dining room which is a lovely triple aspect space with vaulted ceiling and outlook over the front and side gardens. The original herringbone hardwood block floor complements the contrasting white units and there is a recently installed electric Aga.

From the kitchen a step leads down into the very spacious and light triple aspect living room. This is a most impressive room with fireplaces at either end, painted beamed ceilings and wood flooring. Windows provide lovely garden views to the side whilst double doors provide access into the garden and offer further enticing views to the coastline and sea beyond. 5 Ref: LCAA7367

Central stairs from the sitting room lead to the main landing. The master bedroom is on the seaward side of the house and is triple aspect with jaw dropping views over the fields, farmland, coastline and out to sea.

The famed tower room situated on the landward side is triple aspect and has unusually large picture windows taking in the rural views towards the sea beyond.

There is a further guest bedroom between the two main bedrooms. All of the bedrooms are served by a wet room which has recently been refurbished.

The gardens primarily sit to the west of the house and have lovely coastal cottage gardens bordering farmland on the seaward side. These gardens are particularly private and very pleasant with an area of lawn surrounded by mature borders, colourful shrubs and flowers and this is interspersed with granite features. There are numerous hidden areas and places of interest in the garden. From the doors in the sitting room access leads out to a front and side patio and seating area. The outlook from the gardens is an absolute delight with beautiful Cornish countryside and coastline adjoining the house and this stretches to views of the sea beyond. 6 Ref: LCAA7367 LOCATION

The Tower House is located just off the B3306 road between St Ives and the village of Zennor. Zennor lies on the north Cornish coast about 6 miles to the north of and the village is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with glorious and dramatic countryside all around.

The village itself is unspoilt with a number of lovely houses and the church of St Senara dating back to the 13th Century. Within the village is the Grade II Listed Tinner’s Arms public house dating back to the early 18th Century and D. H. Lawrence was reputed to have stayed here before renting The Tower House. The coastline around Zennor is arguably some of the finest in the South West with a beautiful coast path enjoying spectacular scenery and walks between Penzance and St Ives. To many people this is Cornwall at its most rugged and finest making the opportunity to own a home such as The Tower House that much more special.

Penzance is considered the capital of West Cornwall and is located about 10 miles from the village of Zennor and there is a mainline railway station between Penzance and Paddington. The town itself has a rich seafaring heritage and its centre abounds with period buildings 7 Ref: LCAA7367 which now house a wide array of high street names and more specialised retailers. The area is also famous for its arts and there are many galleries in Penzance and neighbouring which also has a large and colourful fishing fleet. Within Penzance there are hotels, restaurants, cafés, museums, education for all ages and a hospital. West Cornwall is known for its rugged beauty with dramatic cliff tops to sheltered coves and larger sandy beaches.

To the east of Penzance is the village of and St Michael’s Mount which can be accessed by foot across a causeway at low tide. There are many sandy beaches including Praa Sands to the east, whilst to the west is Cove and Whitsand Bay near Land’s End, a 2 mile long stretch of beautiful white sands beside the picturesque harbourside village that is renowned for surfing. To the south is Mousehole which attracts people from all over Europe to see its harbourside lights at Christmas. The world renowned resort and surfing town of St Ives to the east along the coast road is considered to have the best light for painting in Britain as it reflects off the waters of the 4 mile wide St Ives Bay.

THE ACCOMMODATION COMPRISES (all floor plans and dimensions are approximate)

Glazed entrance doorway with side panel window to the side of the house leading into a:-

PORCH / UTILITY. Window to the front garden, space and plumbing for fridge/freezer, and washing.

CLOAKROOM / WC. Low level wc, frosted glazed window, doorway through into:-

KITCHEN / BREAKFAST ROOM – 14’6” x 9’9”. A triple aspect room with a range of base units with single drainer sink unit with mixer tap over, Aga, herringbone timber block floor. Archway with steps down into the:-

LIVING ROOM – 24’6” x 14’ maximum. A triple aspect room taking in the outlook over the gardens and out towards the coastline and sea beyond. Two granite fire surrounds at either end of the room with a central staircase and cloaks cupboard. Beamed ceiling, radiators and double glazed patio doors out to the side and rear garden. A turning staircase leads to the:-

FIRST FLOOR

LANDING. Which has access to the loft space and storage cupboard.

MASTER BEDROOM – 14’3” x 11’7”. A superb triple aspect room with large windows with exceptional far reaching outlook over the countryside, coastline and out to sea beyond. The room is of a slightly irregular shape with some restricted head height.

SHOWER ROOM / WC. With complementary contrasting tiles to the walls, shower screen with rainfall shower above, wall mounted wc and wall mounted wash hand basin, window to the side garden. Heated towel rail.

BEDROOM 2 – 15’1” x 6’3”. Picture window with views over countryside and out to sea.

Steps up into the:- 8 Ref: LCAA7367

TOWER ROOM BEDROOM – 14’9” x 10’5”. An exceptionally impressive high ceilinged triple aspect room with two very large picture windows taking in a delightful outlook from the garden to the farmland, granite scattered coastline and out to sea beyond. Airing cupboard housing the hot water tank.

OUTSIDE

DETACHED SINGLE GARAGE – plus attached OFFICE/WORKSHOP. Of granite elevations under a hipped roof of scantle slate.

GENERAL INFORMATION

VIEWING – Strictly by prior appointment through: Lillicrap Chilcott, Landrian House, 59-60 Lemon Street, , Cornwall, TR1 2PE. Telephone: (01872) 273473. E-mail: [email protected].

POST CODE – TR26 3BP.

SERVICES – Mains electricity, private water and drainage, oil central heating system and electric Aga. For Council Tax see www.mycounciltax.org.uk.

DIRECTIONS – Leave St Ives on the B3306 coastal road past the Trevalgan Hill car park on the left hand side and the turning to on the left hand side. Continue along the road as it rises and passes a couple of houses on the right hand side. As the road goes down the hill after a couple of hundred yards there is a private lane on the right hand side which leads down to The Tower House. There is a Lillicrap Chilcott For Sale board at the 9 Ref: LCAA7367 top of this driveway. Continue down this driveway and as the road turns round to the right, The Tower House is clearly visible on the left hand side.

AGENT’S NOTE – The above particulars have been prepared as a general guide only for prospective buyers. Whilst we have endeavoured to provide a fair and reasonable description of the property, no specific survey or detailed inspection has been carried out in relation to the property, the services, the appliances and any fixtures and fittings or equipment. All buyers should rely on their own surveys and investigations in connection with any purchase of the property. All measurements, floor plans, dimensions, acreages and distances are approximate only and should not be relied upon for accuracy.

OFFICE OPENING HOURS – Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm. Saturday - 9.00am to 1.00pm. NB: A number of staff are available for viewing appointments all day Saturday and all day Sunday.

10 Ref: LCAA7367 Not to scale – for identification purposes only.

11 Ref: LCAA7367 It should be noted by any prospective purchaser that possessory title is claimed to the area of garden including the garaging which is marked in purple on the Land Registry Title Plan numbered CL69019. 12 Ref: LCAA7367