Prideaux Place is a beautifully preserved Elizabethan manor offering an inspiring arts-focused visit. Guided tours showcase historic interiors, portraits, and fine decorative details, including the striking plasterwork of the Great Chamber.

Surrounded by gardens and a historic deer park, it provides a peaceful setting for observation and sketching, with a tea room to round off the visit.

Cost will be £24.50 per person which includes the tour and cream team.  For more information and to book, click here.

We are offering a tour of Exeter Cathedral, starting at 11.30 and lasting about an hours with one of the knowledgeable Cathedral Guides. After which, you are then free to visit the Treasures Exhibition which is included in the price.

The cost will be £9 per person.  Refreshments are not included. Please click here for more information and to book. 

On Thursday 26th February 2026, join us to step into the life and legacy of Emily Hobhouse. As a fearless humanitarian and pacifist, Emily Hobhouse defied the British Empire to expose the horrors of the concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War.  Branded a “hysterical woman” and “traitor,” she refused to be silenced, saving thousands of Boer women and children.

Learn more about her life and work by exploring her childhood home and the war rooms.

The cost will be £15 per person.  Refreshments are not included in the ticket price. Please click here for more information and to book

On Saturday 14th June 2025, 15 LAS members gathered at Pengenna Manor which is situated at Trelill, Wadebridge, for an afternoon tour.  The sun was shining and our excellent, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide was Richard Blewett, the current owner.  The Manor has been the home of the Blewett family for over 150 years.  Richard took over running Pengenna in 2011.

We would never have discovered this lovely place on our own. The tour was great with such an enthusiastic owner.  It is nice to know he is not too bothered about crumbling plaster and woodworm.  Gives us hope for our own homes!  (Carina Davis)

Pengenna Manor is an 800 year old private house set in over 300 acres of beautiful Cornish countryside.  It is tucked away in a secluded valley and is just three miles inland from the North Cornish coast.

The house began as a one room two-storey hall built during the mid-medieval period in about 1220.  The earliest document mentioning Pengenna dates to 1523 with the Pentyre family in residence although there is a record of a Thomas Pentier claiming the land against John and Maud Pentier dated 1442.  In the 1590s unknown residents (probably still the Pentyres) added a three-storey extension creating an entire new frontage to the house with adjoining north wing, comprising eight new bedrooms, a drawing room, parlour, great hall and even a private family chapel.

That was a wonderful visit to Pengenna Manor, I particularly found the unrestored room fascinating, to see the various layers of history on the walls and the original moulded beams in the ceiling, and hear the birds chattering above us.  Part of me hopes he never gets around to bringing it into the 21st century.  Thank you for arranging it.  (Frances Impey)

It's only after the English Civil War (1642–1651) that there is reference to the new owners, the Reverend Thomas Pocock, his wife Honor and their children Edward, Mary, Thomas and Honor.

On the death of Thomas Pocock in 1722, Robert Corker, a wealthy Falmouth merchant bought Pengenna.  Unfortunately he ran into huge debt and was forced to sign everything over to John Hedges, treasurer to the Prince of Wales.  When he died in 1731 his estates went to the Prince of Wales to cover all his debts.  In 1735 the Prince of Wales sold Pengenna to the Molesworth family of Pencarrow Estate who had the original medieval wing partly demolished.

In the 18th and 19th centuries Pengenna was occupied by a series of tenants before we move to 1925 when the Blewetts were able to buy Pengenna from the Molesworth family.

Richard says that growing up in a building such as Pengenna instilled a sense of curiosity about what had come before.  He was always fascinated when historians would visit, following them around and asking lots of questions.  The same was true when descendants of earlier tenants would get in touch asking to visit to soak up the atmosphere of what they called ‘the family home’.  From this his enthusiasm grew and he spent much time researching Pengenna’s history at Cornwall Records Office and on research trips further afield.  It became, and remains, his serious passion.  It was such a joy to listen to him and hear about the manor’s history and family tales.

After our wonderful 90 minute tour the afternoon ended with a very welcome cream tea and a chance to chat!

Another lovely day out with friends from Liskeard Arts.  A chance to get to know each other a little better.  Warm summer sunshine, an enthusiastic host, a close look at a wonderful old house all followed by a cream tea.  A good opportunity to keep us all in touch over the summer months, and to reminisce over the recent lectures we have enjoyed.  (Kathryn and Graham Clark)

We had a most enjoyable afternoon….such an interesting story how the house has developed over the years…. Plus a cream tea to end the afternoon….what else could you ask for!  (Alan and Sheila Chambers)

Another successful Liskeard Arts tour.  If more members would like to experience Pengenna Manor we can easily arrange a further visit.

LISKEARD ARTS VISITS THE MINSTER CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, PRYSTEN HOUSE & ABBEY HALL

On 6th November, 16 LAS Members and friends gathered at St Andrew’s Church, Plymouth.  William Greaves-Stocker led the tour of the church for us.  The main purpose of our visit was to see and appreciate the wonderful Piper windows with their bold colours, the designs of which William went on to explain.

John Egerton Christmas Piper CH (1903–1992) was an English painter, printmaker and designer of stained-glass windows and both opera and theatre sets.  He began working in stained glass from 1951 in partnership with Patrick Reyntiens, whom he had met through John Betjeman.

Within the Minster Church of St Andrew, Plymouth there are six Piper/Reyntiens windows, one of the best collections of post second World War glass in the Southwest.

The 15th Century parish church of Plymouth is now known as the Minster Church of St Andrew, having been declared a Minster on 29th November 2009 as part of 1100th anniversary of the Diocese of Exeter.  It is the largest church in Devon, nearly 60 metres long and 30 metres wide with aisles but no clerestory.  Between 20th and 22nd March 1941 it was completely burnt out by German incendiaries during the Plymouth Blitz.  On 22nd October 1949 HRH Princess Elizabeth laid the foundation stone for the restoration of the church and in November 1957 on St Andrews Day, the church was re-consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Exeter.

The star of the show is undoubtedly the scheme of six windows designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens.  Perhaps the most interesting is the window, dedicated to the memory of Lady Astor, the first female MP to take her seat in Parliament in 1919.  A north transept window has a vividly coloured window based on a theme of inspiration and music, and is dedicated to Dr Harry Moreton, organist here from 1885-1961.

The tour of the church was followed by the visit to see Prysten House and Abbey Hall.

Prysten House is a medieval merchant’s house built in the late 15th century by Thomas Yogge who died in 1509.  It was erroneously identified in the 19th century as the Prysten (Priest’s) House.  The house is built of limestone with granite dressings.  The bay window above the entrance is especially grand.  The house is of three storeys with galleried wings flanking a back courtyard.  The back block was replaced in the 1920s by Abbey Hall.

Feedback from those who went has been very positive with a range of comments.

“I very much enjoyed the tour and would like to thank you for organising it.  The speakers were good and we had just the right amount of time to see everything.  It was also good to mingle and talk with fellow LAS members.  I loved the stained glass windows and the tapestry in particular.”  “We both had a very interesting visit… such magnificent windows all inspiring.  A relaxed visit which made for a very enjoyable morning.”

For further photos from the event please click on the Gallery tab or Here

Come and join us for our

‘Summer Event’

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 at 2.00pm

For a fascinating private history tour of Boconnoc House and Boconnoc’s stunning Dorothy Garden and Shrubbery.  Followed by a Delicious Cream Tea, including a glass of fizz!

Tickets for this event are now all reserved

Ticket price: £27.50 pp

          Click Here to watch the Boconnoc video

LISKEARD ARTS VISITS PENLEE HOUSE GALLERY AND MUSEUM

On 18th September 21 LAS members made their way to Penlee House, Penzance for a guided tour of the exhibition ‘Lamorna Colony Pioneers’.  Arriving a little before our 11.00am tour we had time to have a coffee and cake in Penlee’s Orangery Café.

 Photograph courtesy of Sheila and Alan Chambers

John Birch adopted the name ‘Lamorna’ in 1895 and was the first to base himself in the valley for extended periods of time.  The artists and writers who settled there at the beginning of 20th century developed a distinctive, rather bohemian, way of life in what was then an isolated spot.  Whilst they did exhibit with the Newlyn artists, landscape and marine work was much more to the fore given the attractions of the area.  (Adapted from Penlee exhibition guide)

Our guide, John, was very knowledgeable, commenting about the art works and exploring some of the artists’ personal stories.  The exhibition is very well put together and showcased some beautiful works of art.

Feedback from those who went has been very positive with a range of comments.

“It was well worth the journey down and made a really nice day out with the added enjoyment of going by train.”  “This was my first visit with the art group and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I learnt such a lot and it made me really stop and look.”  “Good to have the extra time to go back and look at the paintings on our own.”  “Thoroughly enjoyed our day out.  Thanks.”  “Thank you for arranging this visit.  I thought it was wonderful.  The exhibition was excellent …..”

The only negative was caused by members of the public who were talking too loudly and taking little notice of other people around them in the gallery!  Unfortunately, it was not always easy to hear our tour guide as he is quietly spoken.  John did say he would pass on my comment that it would be better if our guided tour could have been exclusively for us!

LISKEARD ARTS VISITS UGBROOKE HOUSE

On 12th June 2023 19 LAS members gathered at Ugbrooke House for our first LAS visit in a long while.  We hope this will be the start of many more trips from now on.  Expectations were high.  As the Park opens at 12 noon this gave us time to explore the gardens and grounds before the tour of the house started, scheduled for 2.15pm.

Ugbrooke House originally featured in the Domesday book of 1086 when it was a small manor house before becoming church property by 1280. It has been in the Clifford family seat since 1604 when Thomas, the son of Anne (daughter of Sir Piers Courtenay of Powderham) and Anthony Clifford of Borscombe, inherited it.  In the reign of Charles II, 1st Lord Clifford began to enlarge the existing rather modest Tudor house until 1760 when 4th Lord Clifford engaged Robert Adam to redesign the house which is one of the earliest examples of Adam’s castle style.  After extensive demolition Adam extended two wings, squaring them off to form the courtyard and created the Library Wing, linking the Chapel with the house.

During the Second World War Ugbrooke was requisitioned as a school then serving as a refuge for Poles before being relegated to a grain store.  However it was rescued in 1957 by the 13th Lord and Lady Clifford who turned it back into a family home.  It is now the responsibility of the 14th Lord and Lady Clifford to carry out extensive conservation and restoration to protect the house for the future.

What did LAS members think about the visit?  Feedback has been varied.  People are appreciative as to how smoothly the day ran.  The grounds receive the greatest number of compliments.

The dominant landscape at Ugbrooke has always been the Park.  There is little evidence of a garden here until the 19th century.  By 1780 Lancelot ‘Capability Brown’ designed a parkland, which had a herd of albino deer, dammed the Ug Brook to create two lakes and planted his characteristic clumps, belts and avenues of trees.  It’s simplicity is charming and quite stunning.

Unfortunately, the exterior of the house didn’t seem to evoke the same reaction as the grounds!  Not everyone appreciates Adam’s castle style!

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but her delivery wasn’t very exciting.  Our tour began in the courtyard where our guide gave us an introduction to the history of the house and the family.  We soon realised there’s an awful lot of Cliffords to hear about and so many of their portraits hang on the walls waiting for their stories to be told!

Once through the Entrance Hall we entered the Main Hall where it is possible to view six original drawings by Robert Adam, three of which show the designs for the original Hall, Great Drawing Room and Great Eating Room.  Adam initially proposed a far grander house than Ugbrooke with ornate decoration.  The hall is lit by a great glass dome and serves as a gallery for a collection of portraits many of which are members of the Clifford family.

We then proceeded to move through the three staterooms.  The Morning Room typifies Adam’s architectural elegance as seen through the fireplace, cornice and friezes.  Again much of the portraiture focuses on Clifford family members.  The room does contain some fine furniture and some of the Clifford porcelain but our guide spent little time discussing these.

The Drawing Room is notable for its portraits by Sir Peter Lely.  There is a magnificent George II carved gilt mirror over the fireplace as well as a pair of giltwood console tables attributed to John Linnell, as close associate of Adams.

The third of the staterooms is the Dining Room overlooking the principal lake created by Lancelot ‘Capability Brown’.  Among the treasures in the Dining Room is a collection of Dr Wall 1st edition Worcester porcelain.

The house contains interesting furniture, porcelain, paintings and other artefacts but our tour guide didn’t give the time to talk about these in any great depth.

Having completed our tour of the ground floor we ventured upstairs.  The bedrooms of note are the Cardinal’s Room and the Duchess of Norfolk’s room.  The Cardinal’s Room contains a collection of the personal belongings of Cardinal Thomas Weld including an 18th century apothecary’s cabinet, a grooming kit, diaries and some of his vestments.  The Duchess of Norfolk’s Room contains the spectacular 18th century embroideries which were created by Mary, the 9th Duchess of Norfolk.  Mary, whose sister Elizabeth married the 3rd Lord Clifford, was one of the four Blount sisters from Blagdon near Paignton.  The room is dominated by the magnificent, finely carved, George III four poster bed.

The next room on the tour was the Library.  The Library wing is the best example of Adam’s work at Ugbrooke.  It was the final phase of the house and, having resolved his financial problems, the 4th Lord Clifford put no restraints on Adam.  The Library consists of three rooms.  The ante-library, the Main Library and the Tribune Library.  The Main Library no longer houses the great collection of books it once did as they were sold off in the 1960s to pay for death duties.

The Chapel though originally an Anglican chapel was re-dedicated as a Catholic Chapel in 1673 when the 1st Lord became a Catholic.  Robert Adams enhanced the interior of the Chapel and in 19th century the 7th Lord enriched the apse with marbles and built an organ loft on the south side.  It was the 8th Lord who added a Lady Chapel and Baptistry, thus turning the chapel into a Greek cross with a cupola at the crossing.

An interesting house but we came away wanting to know more!

Photographs are available on the Gallery Page Here

Mark Cottle takes us for a full day at the abbey. The morning sessions are dedicated to the early historiy, from foundation in 1018 to its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539, followed by the inspiring story of how it was reublt by a small group of dedicated monks, led by Abbot Vonier, over a 30-year perid from the 1800s onwards.

After lunch, a tour of the recreated monastery and its beaituful medicinal garden.

Due to COVID-19 we have cancelled this visit.

Visit to Broadwoodwidger to see Cornish Art Collection of Art Historian, David Tovey and to hear of his new research into ‘Polperro – Cornwall’s Forgotten Art Centre’

David Tovey is an independent art historian, who specialises in Cornish art and he came to Liskeard Arts in March 2018 to talk at a Discovery Day on St Ives and its Painters.  He is currently working on a two-volume History of Art in Polperro, a subject never previously researched, and will be curating an exhibition ‘Polperro – Cornwall’s Forgotten Art Centre’ at Falmouth Art Gallery in the spring of 2021.  In the morning, David will give us a talk at the Broadwoodwidger Community Hub on Polperro’s development as an art centre and its considerable artistic heritage, which features numerous foreign artists.  In the afternoon, we will visit his home, The Old Vicarage, to see his extensive collection of Cornish representational art, which relates in particular to the Cornish art centres of St Ives, Lamorna and Polperro.  In addition to newly acquired Polperro paintings, the collection has a strong marine element to it, reflecting the fact that St Ives gained an international reputation as a centre for the teaching and practice of marine painting.  A special feature is a group of works by foreign artists who were much influenced by their sojourns in Cornwall.

Visit to Broadwoodwidger to see Cornish Art Collection of Art Historian, David Tovey and to hear of his new research into ‘Polperro – Cornwall’s Forgotten Art Centre’

David Tovey is an independent art historian who specialises in Cornish art, and he came to Liskeard Arts in March 2018 to talk at a Discovery Day on St Ives and its Painters.  He is currently working on a two-volume History of Art in Polperro, a subject never previously researched, and will be curating an exhibition ‘Polperro – Cornwall’s Forgotten Art Centre’ at Falmouth Art Gallery in the spring of 2021. 

In the morning, David will give us a talk at the Broadwoodwidger Community Hub on Polperro’s development as an art centre and its considerable artistic heritage, which features numerous foreign artists. 

In the afternoon, we will visit his home, The Old Vicarage, to see his extensive collection of Cornish representational art, which relates in particular to the Cornish art centres of St Ives, Lamorna and Polperro.  In addition to newly acquired Polperro paintings, the collection has a strong marine element to it, reflecting the fact that St Ives gained an international reputation as a centre for the teaching and practice of marine painting.  A special feature is a group of works by foreign artists who were much influenced by their sojourns in Cornwall.

We visited Paris by Eurostar for 3 nights and very full days of art appreciation ranging from the Louvre to the nightclubs of Montmartre, and everything in-between, with some hilarious bistro dinners!

We were lucky enough to be able to visit St Neot church with its exquisite medieval stained glass windows, acclaimed as the second best in the UK, in the company of an expert.

The morning was spent exploring the delights of this unique building, and the afternoon its glorious garden.