Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, is the seat of the Eliot family, current head of which is Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a house with its own church – originally the cathedral for the whole of Cornwall – set in a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha) estate which extends into the neighbouring villages of Tideford, Trerulefoot and Polbathic.
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History
Originally built as a monastery for the adjoining St Germans Priory Church (the former Cathedral for Cornwall), parts of the house date back to the twelfth century. It was substantially altered and remodelled in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by noted architects including Sir John Soane.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Eliot family invested heavily in the estate, building numerous farmhouses, fisherman's cottages and other dwellings across the land. Many of these remain part of the estate to this day and are rented out to local residents and friends of the family. Some properties, mainly lying remote from the estate, have been sold in recent years.
Festivals
Elephant Fayre
In 1980 a small festival which had outgrown its site at Polgooth in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds. The estate office agreed a price, and there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s. The festival ran from 1981-1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, and featured a mix of music, theatre and visual arts. Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as The Cure, The Fall and Siouxie and the Banshees. By 1985-6 the festival, like so many of the time, had become victim of its own success. The tolerance of the free festival culture of the 70s was over, as New Age Travellers became a focus for disorder across the country. Despite the tolerance of the then Lord Eliot and fellow festival benefactor Michael Eavis at Glastobury (known affectionately in festival crew parlance as 'The Good Lord and The Worthy Farmer') the travellers put paid, it was said, to the Elephant Fayre and seriously compromised Glastonbury.
Whilst the festival at Port Eliot had built up a reputation as one of the best in the country, with extraordinary acts and the liberal attitude of the organisers, it was alleged the travellers had taken advantage and destroyed the festival. The burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders prompted Lord Eliot and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last.
Port Eliot Festival
In 2003 Lord St Germans began the Port Eliot Lit Fest.
Public access
In March 2008 the house and grounds opened to the public for the first time, for one hundred days. A total 12,000 visitors enjoyed the unique atmosphere of Port Eliot. The house and grounds will open once to the public again for 100 days from March 1 2009, every day except Friday, until the end of June.
External links
- Port Eliot Official Website
- Port Eliot Festival
- Port Eliot LitFest Archive
- BBC News on the Elephant Fayre
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