The Trebah we know today has been shaped by many hands, but the first people to turn the wooded valley into a garden were the Foxes.
Trebah House and Garden was bought by Charles Fox in 1831, according to his brother Alfred’s diary. The Foxes were a wealthy Quaker family that had interests in many enterprises: shipping, engineering, geology, mining, philanthropy and more.
Charles (1797-1878), and Sarah Fox (1800-1882) had a new, much larger house built next to the exisiting Georgian property, which was referred to as “the cottage”. They moved into the “mansion” in the 1850s.
They were never far from family, as Glendurgan next door was owned and developed as a pleasure garden by Charles’ brother Alfred and his wife, also Sarah, while another brother, Robert Were Fox (the younger) lived at Penjerrick with his wife Maria Barclay. As a family, they are credited with the creation of several stunning local gardens, including, Glendurgan, Trebah, Penjerrick, Fox Rosehill and Meudon.
This is all thanks to the shipping company, started by their grandfather George Croker Fox (the elder), which would travel far and wide, bringing back with him incredible, exotic species from around the globe to be planted in their own personal gardens here in Cornwall.
Charles Fox was known as an extremely intelligent man. He was President of The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall from 1863-1867, and then later took on the role of Chairman of the Royal Polytechnic Society after helping his nieces set it up in 1835.
Sarah, who often went by the name Sarah Hustler Fox, was a talented author and poet, is often overlooked in Trebah’s retelling of its history. Recently we have acquired a copy of her book Key To Catch Who Can (1869) as well as poems published in West Country Poets and family diaries show her personal friendships with Lake Poets, such as William Wordsworth.
The original planting by Charles and Sarah was paramount to the longevity of the garden’s life, as he began a shelterbelt on either side of the garden, planting Monterey Pine (Pinus Radiata), Maritime Pine (Pinus Pinaster) and Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) en masse to protect the garden from the worst elements.
Find out more about Trebah’s history on our Heritage page
