Porthledden

Porthledden

Porthledden at Cape Cornwall is a monument to the South West's glorious mining past.


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But who built this spectacular house and why did it lay empty and derelict for decades?

And and what possessed a young couple to take it on with a repair bill that runs into millions?

Inside Out's David Stafford investigates the story behind one of Cornwall's most intriguing buildings.

House hunting

Cape Cornwall is renowned for its wild weather - it's the place where the untamed Atlantic first crashes onto the British mainland.

Three years ago a young couple on a house-buying mission came to Cape Cornwall to look at the Old Count House, but their eyes were drawn to Porthledden.

Porthledden is a 21 bedroom mansion with magnificent views across the Atlantic and a grand façade that hides a century of secrets.

It was love at first sight and the couple had to have the house, even though the place was in a right mess and rotten throughout.

Despite this, Mark Wilson and Tara Physick were on the phone with an offer just 15 minutes into their viewing.

They knew the house needed some repairs - but the full extent wasn't revealed until they started to peel away the surface.

All they were left with were granite walls with gaping holes where the windows should be.

It's taken the best part of a year just to put a new roof on - now they must turn their attention to the windows - all 200 of them - and they haven't got long.

Their top priority is getting the building watertight before winter sets in.

Rich heritage

Mark and Tara are prepared to spend as much as it takes to create their dream home.

Luckily, they can afford it. Eight years ago they set up a small business in their converted garage.

Now hoteldirect.co.uk is a multimillion pound operation with offices in London and Truro

Restoration work

Francis Oats' great house is brought back to life

The money that built Porthledden was made by enterprise in a bygone era.

Francis Oats grew up in St Just mining district in the middle of the 19th century.

Like most young men in the area, when he left school he went underground

But St Just couldn't hold him. He was already a mine captain by the time he was 23 and a few years later went off to seek his fortune in South Africa.

He started out as a mining engineer with diamond company De Beers but was invited onto the board of directors after only three years.

Oats was a great man.

Restoration work

While Mark takes charge of structural work, Tara uses her design expertise to look after the interior of the house.

As well as providing a home for their growing family, Porthledden will house a gallery showing Mark and Tara's impressive collection of Newlyn School paintings.

Porthledden interior
Restoring Porthledden to its former glory
Winter's on the way and they've endured some atrocious weather.

But somehow Mark has managed to get all the windows in - except for one.

Things didn't go quite so smoothly for the previous owners.

Apart from a few brief visits, Francis never really got to spend any time at the house.

He became a prominent citizen in South Africa, taking over as chairman of De Beers from Cecil Rhodes.

Francis Oats is remembered in St Just church but he died far away, stranded in South Africa by the First World War

Mining decline

Francis Oats had invested heavily in Cornish mining, which after his death went into catastrophic decline.

The history of Porthledden mirrored this sad state of Cornish mining.

Francis' son turned it into hotel but it never really prospered, and the house was sold to pay off family debts after he died in the 1950s.

It will be a year before the restoration of Porthledden is finished - exactly a century since work started on the original.

It's a fitting tribute to the remarkable man who first dreamt of living at Porthledden.