Godolphin House

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Godolphin Hall; Cairdine Castle; Godolgan

In the civil parish of Breage.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Country house, built as a courtyard house in the late C15 and extended considerably in C16. It was further extended in the mid C17 and has some C18 alterations. The house was reduced in size and converted into a farmhouse. Apart from C20 renovations it has been little altered since the early C19. Adjoining the house are C17 or possibly late C16 cobbled pavements and stabling including a fodder store. The forecourt walls and mounting block are C17. By the middle of C16, Godolphin House was an impressive building consisting of three main wings around a central courtyard which was closed off to the north by a crenulated wall. At this time, Sir William Godolphin - a soldier in the service of Henry VIII - made some alterations to the house and further work was carried out in the later stages of C16 by Sir Francis Godolphin (Governor of the Scilly Isles).

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Questionable.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 65746)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW60103184

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; 425981

Web site links
- http://www.godolphinhouse.com/
  http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/heritage-trail/heritage-other/godolphin/Welcome.asp
  http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housecorn_god.htm
Books
- Pevsner, N. revised by Enid Radcliffe, 1970, Buildings of England: Cornwall (Harmondsworth)
Journal Articles
- Schofield, S., 1973, Archaeological Journal Vol130 p262-4 plan
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p66, 67

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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