Trenython

Trenython is a country house dating to 1860. It is constructed of coursed rubble with stucco dressings, and has dry Delabole slate hipped roofs with multiple dormers concealed behind a parapet featuring a moulded entablature. The house has stepped stuccoed axial stacks with a moulded entablature. The plan is rectangular, with a service wing set back to the left, a small pavilion in front of the service wing, a 20th-century conservatory low at the front, and a ground-floor extension to a room on the left.

The symmetrical garden front has a 1:3:1 bay arrangement, with the two side bays canted and stuccoed. Most windows are original horned sashes. The first-floor centre bays have segmental arches with moulded architraves resting on sill blocks. The canted bays feature impost strings and keyblocks. A moulded first-floor string connects to hoodmoulds on consoles to the central ground-floor bays. Similar details are found on the other elevations. The rear entrance front features a central tetrastyle Tuscan portico, with a central panelled door flanked by four patterned transomed windows, and four round-arched windows above.

The interior is notable for its moulded plaster ceiling cornices, moulded architraves, and panelled doors. The large stair hall has a panelled balcony/gallery on each side, supported by large, moulded and carved brackets. The imperial staircase and gallery have turned balustrades with square panelled newels topped with ball finials, and an over-ceiling cornice over a soffit carried on pilasters. Carved screens feature on either side of the staircase. The central front room has a ceiling with moulded ribs and a moulded, dentilled cornice. The walls are panelled with richly carved, reused 17th-century panelling, and the fireplace has a carved overmantel.

Trenython was the home of John Gott, the 3rd Bishop of Truro, from his consecration in 1891 until his death in 1906. He chose to live here, rather than at Lis Escop in Truro, to be at the centre of his diocese, providing hospitality and establishing a connection to the Cornish land. Gott completed Truro Cathedral as originally envisioned by Bishop Benson and was an active bishop, visiting schools, workhouses, and hospitals throughout the diocese, including the Isles of Scilly.