24/10/2026
Nestled above the banks of the River Tamar, Cotehele House is prone to fog and frost which creates the perfect spooky atmosphere on an autumn or winter morning.
Although there are no official reports of ghosts inhabiting Cotehele, one of Cotehele’s owners, Richard Edgcumbe (1440-1489) did seemingly return from the dead.
Angered by the usurpation of the throne by Richard III, Edgcumbe joined the 1483 rebellion to dethrone the king and replace him with Henry Tudor. The rebellion collapsed and Sir Henry Trenowth of Bodrugen was sent to Cotehele to arrest Edgcumbe.
Richard hid in the woods surrounding Cotehele, but was caught and placed under house arrest. He managed to escape and made his way to the river, where he filled his hat with stones and threw them into the Tamar. Bodrugen’s men heard the splash and saw his hat running downstream, so reported that he had drowned.
Presumed dead, Edgcumebe fled to Brittany to join Henry Tudor in exile. In 1485 he returned to England and took part in the Battle of Bosworth, where Richard III was killed. As a show of thanks for his support, Henry Tudor knighted Richard Edgcumbe on the battlefield.
Upon his return home to Cotehele, Sir Richard commemorated the spot of his presumed death by building the Chapel-in-the-Wood which you can visit on the Cotehele Estate today.
📸 John Parker
[Image description: Cothele House on a frosty winter morning]
