Werrington

Werrington is a civil parish north of Launceston, historically part of Devon but transferred to Cornwall in 1966. The parish is characterised by Werrington Park, a substantial estate with a Georgian mansion, parkland, and the Church of St Martin, which was rebuilt in 1742. The landscape is a mix of pasture, woodland, and estate farmland, with the River Tamar forming the eastern boundary. Werrington has a manorial, cultivated quality, shaped by centuries of estate ownership.

History: Werrington was held by Gytha of Wessex, mother of King Harold, before the Norman Conquest. Around 1066-8, she granted it to Tavistock Abbey, which held it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The estate was then acquired by the Russell family before being purchased in 1620 by Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet, nephew of the famous admiral. Drake obtained a royal licence to empark lands in Werrington and rebuilt the manor house in 1631. In 1649, the estate was sold to Sir William Morice, Secretary of State to King Charles II. The present Werrington Park mansion was built in the 1730s by a descendant of Morice, possibly to the design of William Kent. The estate was purchased in 1775 by Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, who further embellished the interior and acquired additional lands in Launceston and Newport. The estate was sold again in 1864 and passed through several owners before being acquired by the Williams family of Caerhays Castle in 1882. The transfer of Werrington from Devon to Cornwall in 1966 was part of a boundary reorganisation, recognising its position west of the Tamar. Today, Werrington Park remains a private estate, with the church and parkland retaining their Georgian character.