Antony House

The house at Antony is full of personal treasures and family stories stretching back generations, and is still lived in by the Carew Pole family today. Among the many things to see in the house are a selection of portraits that reflect the way in which the Civil War weaves its way through history and wooden furniture, carefully cleaned during the winter months.

The house sits high above the River Lynher with sweeping views over the Repton-designed landscape. The beautifully situated house is built from a rare Pentewan stone, which glows a silvery grey in the sunlight and gives the building its distinctive colour.

A visit to Antony has the personal touch and the spirit of collecting is still alive. Expect to see 200-year-old portraits hanging next to 20th-century glass ornaments. The latest generation of Carew Poles live in the house today, so you might even spot their favourite toys.

Antony is a house full of faces and personalities. Generations of the Carew family look down from gilded frames as you walk through the rooms. A rich family history tells of English Civil War intrigue and the remarkable scholarship and creativity of an aristocratic family.

Charles I looks down from a portrait above the fireplace pictured at his trial in 1648, one month before his execution. Meet Alexander Carew in the library, who opportunistically raised a militia for the parliamentarian cause and suffered the consequences of his decision.

A portrait of Richard Carew hangs in the hall, a scholar, antiquary and author of the Survey of Cornwall (1602), an unrivalled portrait of Elizabethan Cornwall. Any subject could stir his curiosity from the rules of Cornish wrestling to the best way to pickle a pilchard.

The house at Antony is closed over winter and reopens in the spring. During the winter months, the collections and house team are kept busy with several tasks to ensure Antony is conserved for generations to come.

Within days of Antony's doors closing the work begins to transform the house from a visitor attraction back to a lived-in family home. Ropes, stanchions, visitor information and signage are cleaned, repaired and packed away ready for spring.

Designed by landscape architect Humphry Repton, the garden at Antony, Cornwall, offers sweeping views looking out to the River Lynher, floral displays and glimpses into the lives of past residents of the house. There's also a formal garden full of surprises such as intriguing sculptures.

The historic collection of daylilies brighten the borders in summer. There are over 600 cultivars at Antony, collected by Lady Cynthia Carew Pole in the 1960s and 1970s. There are displays of catmint and ‘Iceberg’ roses along the terraces and the formal summer garden comes to life.

The garden at Antony was first designed by Humphry Repton (1772-1818) a leading landscape designer who helped define the concept of the landscape garden. He is regarded as the greatest English landscape gardener to follow ‘Capability’ Brown.

Repton produced finely illustrated books featuring watercolours and aquatints on hinged flaps to show ‘before’ and ‘after’ views. These manuscript volumes became known as ‘Red Books’, and were produced to sell his landscape ideas to prospective clients.

Repton was invited to Antony by Sir Reginald Pole Carew, MP for Fowey and Privy Councillor under Pitt, who recommended him. A 'Red Book' was prepared for Pole Carew in 1792.

You can recline on deckchairs, play lawn games or hide in the living teepee in the grounds.  You can also spot locations for the 2010 Disney film "Alice in Wonderland", which adds an extra thrill for the smaller people in the party.