Merthen Manor House, Constantine (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Moreden

In the civil parish of Constantine.
In the historic county of Cornwall.
Modern Authority of Cornwall.
1974 county of Cornwall.
Medieval County of Cornwall.

OS Map Grid Reference: SW72712639
Latitude 50.09416° Longitude -5.17912°

Merthen Manor House, Constantine has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

Possible fortified manor house dated 1575 although it maybe earlier, altered circa early to mid C19 and again in C20. It has two storeys, and is constructed from cement washed shale rubble with a slate roof. Depicted on a document of circa 1545 as a large, castellated house with four round towers. The date 1575 may refer to a reduction and remodelling of the house rather than a complete rebuilding. (PastScape)

Merthen has been held by the Vyvyans of Trelowarren since the C17, but it was formerly the seat of the Reskymers. In the C11 it was part of the manor of Winnianton and therefore not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was held by the Crown. In 1225 Henry III made his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall and gave him Winnianton which he exchanged with Gervase de Tintagel for Tintagel Castle. In the early C15 Merthen eventually passed to Ralph Reskymer and it is generally thought John Reskymer and his wife Grace built the present house in 1575 because of their arms over the entrance, but that may refer to a remodelling of that time. John Reskymer died in 1617 and Grace in 1627. In 1629 Merhen was sold to Sir Francis Vyvyan of Trelowarren. (Listed Building Report)

Mentioned by Leland as a manor of Mr Reskimer 'There hath beene a fair house, but it felle to ruine in tyme of mynde'. He also mentions a park.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1142128
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 427103.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 117097.10.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Merthen Manor
Books
- Chesher, V.M. and F.J.,1968, The Cornishman's House p. 50-51
  Henderson, C., 1937, A History of the Parish of Constantine in Cornwall p. 88-123
  Lysons, D. and Lysons, S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol. 3 p. 67 online transcription
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 71
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1907, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 194, 195 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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