The Backhouse family played an important role in developing the garden at Trebah.

We mostly refer to the Backhouse family as the successors of Trebah’s first owners, Charles and Sarah Fox. Together they had two daughters, Juliet and Jane. Sadly, Jane died at the age of just 5 years old and, unlike the rest of her family who were buried in Budock, Jane was buried alone in Feock.

Juliet went on to marry a successful banker named Edmund Backhouse in 1846, when she was aged 22 and he aged 24. Edmund was from Darlington and was born into a banking family that was started by his grandfather and great grandfather; Jonathan and James Backhouse, respectively, in 1774.

As a Quaker family, they were well placed to extend their network through marriage and grew the enterprise by marrying into the Pease, Barclay and the Gurney families.

By 1896, Backhouse was the third largest bank, after Barclays in the City of London and the Gurney Group of banks in East Anglia, in a historic 1896 bank amalgamation. They joined together with 10 smaller banks to form Barclay Company Limited.

During their marriage, in 1867 Edmund was made Liberal MP for Darlington, for which he was re-elected until he retired in 1880. As a couple, they split their time between Trebah and Darlington. After their wedding at the Friends Meeting House in Falmouth, it was said in the Falmouth Packet that ‘the bride and bride groom, accompanied by their numerous friends, en cortage of 12 carriages proceeded to Perranarworthal…Where after being elegantly entertained, they proceeded on their journey to Darlington.’

Their time at Trebah is often commented on as ‘The Golden Era’, as they acquired numerous exotic plants and trees from across the world. A lot of the paths that are still used today were first created by them and their team of gardeners.

Edmund’s uncle, William Backhouse, was one of the early pioneers of daffodil hybridisation, including Narcissus ‘Emperor’, Narcissus ‘Empress’ and Narcissus ‘Weardale Perfection’.

It was sadly only a few months after they had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at Trebah in 1898 that Juliet passed away at Trebah, and 10 years later Edmund passed away too. And so Trebah was sold to the Hexts, and the gardens evolution continues.

Read more about Trebah’s history on our Heritage page