The Duchy of Cornwall generously gave us this handsome granite building. It was put up in 1799 for Sir John Call, a military engineer who had made a fortune in India. By 1770, at the age of 38, he was able to retire, marry and build himself a substantial mansion. This, with the estate, was sold to the Duchy in 1879. The house was largely demolished in 1913, and today all that remains are traces of its garden, part of the stables, and this temple, on its own, high above.

It is not clear how it was reached from the house, how its surroundings were laid out, nor how it was used – though its three arches were certainly glazed at one time. Accounts of a party held in it in 1847 make one suppose that it must then have been larger; and also that it was nearer to the house, so perhaps it has been moved. It had become a shelter for cattle when we first saw it, with a roof of corrugated iron and a floor of earth.

It has a fine open view, looking towards the estuary of the Tamar in the distance; and it is well designed, an ornament in the landscape which it would be sad to lose. Accordingly, we restored it, as a single large room with two small wings, which is our best guess at what its unknown architect intended.

Sleeps: 2