History
Borlase is said to derive from the meaning 'the green summit' or 'the green hillside'. King William Rufus is said to have given a grant of the land to the French family of Taillefers. That family changed their name to that of the place and became Borlase. The place itself was known then as Borlas Taillyfer, or Borlas Frank Taillyfer, and later on became Lower Borlase. The Borlase family as they became known, are said to have owned it until the early 1700s when it was sold. The Taillyfer family also provided a Queen of England, Isabella of Angouleme, the wife of King Henry III.
Below is an extract from Borlase of Borlase. This refers to the older farmhouse, which overlooked the yard and was pulled down in the 1860s when the present farmhouse was enlarged. The book refers to this being built in the first Edwardian period, which in this context is from 1272 to 1377.
An extract from 'A History of Borlase'
by John James
After the Borlase family, a family named Sandy are known to have lived at Borlase. In 1784, one Joan Sandy was buried at St. Wenn and said to be age 100. The Sandys remained there until well into the 1800s.
An old plan of Borlase. This shows the front part only of the present house, and the former 'cellar' which was replaced in about 1938. Also the wash house seems to be there. The garden was limited to the area straight down from the front of the house and there were buildings around in what is now the garden area. The main farmhouse was overlooking the yard, that is the one removed in the 1860s. The barn part of David's new home was there.
The land that went with the present farmhouse was a bit mixed up and comprised 'Joans Park', that is the field behind David's new home, and the moor beneath it, the Little Orchard below the garden, the small meadow by Joy's new stable, and most of the rest of the property around went with the main farmhouse.
It was owned by the Tom family some time later and the Tom family owned a lot of land in the area. They were connected by marriage with the Sandys. The occupier of the present house in 1841 was a William Stephens, then aged 55, with his wife and 5 other persons.
The main farm was then occupied by the Champion family. In 1851 and 1861 the Prynnes were occupying the present house, and members of the Prynne family are still around the St. Wenn parish. The Champions remained farming the main farm.
In the 1860s, the Drew family arrived and the present farmhouse was enlarged by the addition of the back half. The other old farmhouse was then removed and later a whole run of farm buildings were put up there.
I think the first person to be born in the reconstructed house was Fanny Drew in 1865, and the last person born there, in the room over the kitchen, was myself! This was also the room in which my father himself eventually died. Fanny Drew married and lived at St. Mawgan afterwards, and when I went to my maternal grandparents at St. Mawgan she used to like me to call in to see her to meet up with a Borlase lad, so I remember her well, and she had such great memories of Borlase in its early days.
The gardens at Borlase were laid out in the early 1900s by Bob Drew, who worked full time in the garden. He used to call back to have a look around at times. Originally the Drew family were only part owners of Borlase, with a Mrs. Knowles and Mrs. Tom from the Tom family, but in about 1921 the Drews bought out the Tom family so the 200 year connection of the Sandy/Tom family with Borlase came to an end. Then in 1928 the last of the Drew family farming there, William Drew, sold the farm to my grandfather and father, who previously farmed across the valley at Killiganogue. That farm was then taken over by my father’s sister and her husband, whilst from 1915 my father’s brother farmed at Borlase Burgess, so Grandfather’s family were all together in this area.
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