Entrance Screen At Empacombe

The entrance screen at Empacombe is an early 19th-century structure that serves as the entrance to the kitchen garden of the great house, incorporating reset features from the 16th or 17th century. It is constructed from random slate and sandstone rubble, with limestone, brick, and granite dressings, giving it the appearance of a sham fortification. The entrance is flanked by towers and broad buttressed walls. The cart doors are square-headed and feature a hollow moulded granite surround. Above the doors, there are three pointed arched blind recessed panels. The towers are divided into four storeys by limestone bands, with the second and third storeys displaying the same recessed panels, while the top storey has square sunk panels. To the left, the flanking wall includes a foot arch with a roll-moulded surround. The top of the wall features blind recessed panels that create the illusion of battlements. Overall, the entrance screen forms an impressive feature leading to what were the kitchen and fruit gardens of Mount Edgcumbe.