The Manor of Trevalga, a beautiful hamlet on the north coast of Cornwall, is currently on the market for a price of £15.75 million. It’s the second time the village, which spreads across 1,200 acres of land and has 17 houses and four farms, has gone up for sale in little over a decade.
The first time it hit the market, the residents managed to stop the sale. And right now, residents are again fighting to stop their homes being sold – as they could face eviction.
Around half-way between the ancient fishing villages of Boscastle and Tintagel, the settlement is believed to have been a residence of King Arthur in the sixth century. Many of the residents have lived in the village for generations, and the majority of the current Trevalgans have been residents for decades.
Gerald Curgenven (the last unofficial ‘Lord of the Manor of Trevalga’), who died in 1959, first purchased the Manor in 1934 for £14,000. He left the entire estate in a trust with the aim of preserving the village for future generations, with the profits from rent going to his former school Marlborough College.
As the main landlord of Trevalga, Curgenven laid out the village in such a way as to protect the area’s historical value and beauty, and prioritised affordable housing for local people, according to residents behind the Battle of Trevalga campaign. Curgenven gave priority to families and allowed children to inherit the tenancies of their parents. As a result, the village has a long-established community of families who have lived there for generations.
Now, however, the village could be sold and broken up, with the entire thing available to a buyer for £15.75 million. Estate agents Savills are advertising the village as an opportunity for redevelopment – potentially putting tenants’ homes at risk.
But the residents of Trevalga are determined to stop the sale going ahead. The hamlet is a medieval parish that hasn’t changed much since it was first built. The Trevalgans are proud that it has no second homes, holiday homes and no Airbnbs, and the community says that they intend to keep it that way.
Scott Mann, Conservative MP for north Cornwall, has declared his full support for campaign. He wrote on Facebook: ‘I am fully supportive of the Trevalga community, and I will help them in any way I can. Please visit the Save Trevalga campaign group to learn more.’
While the fate of Trevalga is increasingly uncertain, you can find out more about the fight to save the village here.
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