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| Topic (3 Responses) | Posted |
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| Menabilly Is it really impossible to go and explore any part of the estate ? Do the Rashleigh family ever allow an open day etc …. I know you can stay in holiday accommodation, does that allow more access of the estate ? And are there blood red rhododendrons? ? Many Thanks | Sun 19/02/23 09:38 AM |
Response
Menabilly, one of the houses that Daphne du Maurier lived in and the one that is the setting for much of Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and The King's General, is, and always has been, owned by the Rashleigh family. The current member of the Rashleigh family that owns it lives in the house as his permanent home. He is a very private person and does not choose to open his house or the surrounding gardens to the public. This means it is impossible to explore the estate at all, as that would be trespassing! People staying at the holiday cottages on the Menabilly estate are free to wander through the grounds. However, they are expected to respect the Rashleigh family's privacy by not intruding on the area close to the main house. There are many beautiful red rhododendrons on the Menabilly Estate. I'm not sure that I would call them blood red, although, from Daphne du Maurier's point of view, that did give more resonance to her descriptions.Posted on Tue 21/02/23 04:57 PM
Response
What was the real reason Daphne du Maurier left her beloved home Menabilly after 26 years?Posted on Sat 13/07/24 02:59 PM
Response
Menabilly has been the home of the Rashleigh family since the 16th century and continues to be so to this day. Dr John Rashleigh, the family member who owned Menabilly when Daphne first saw the house and trespassed in the grounds, did not choose to live there. Daphne wrote to him, and he gave her permission to walk in the grounds. Later, Dr Rashleigh agreed to rent the house to her and granted her a lease in 1943. When he died, the house became the property of Philip Stuart Rashleigh. He wanted to live in the house, so Daphne’s lease was not extended any further, and negotiations took place for her to rent Kilmarth, which, at the time, was the Dower House to Menabilly and about a mile away from the main house. Daphne lived at Menabilly for about twenty-six years and then at Kilmarth for nearly twenty years. Daphne grew to love Kilmarth very much. She also developed a friendship with Veronica Rashleigh, Philip’s wife, so visited Menabilly and walked in the grounds with Veronica for the rest of her life. Ann.Posted on Sun 14/07/24 09:14 PM
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