The story behind our Lamorna Cove photoshoot

Perched on the rocky cliffs above Lamorna Cove, Chygurno Garden was the perfect backdrop to showcase our springtime collection, The Light at Lamorna. While the sun sparkled on the sea below, our creative team of stylists and photographers captured the magic of the garden as it blossomed with spring colour. 

Our models, Candice and Esme, looked beautiful in breezy dresses, lightweight linens and other key pieces from the collection. Our designs this month are inspired by the ethereal beauty of the landscape that drew artists to Lamorna Cove, capturing the carefree feeling of their romantic compositions and impressionist paintings. 

Chygurno Garden is owned by Robert and Carole Moule, an amazing couple who bought the property after it had been abandoned and left to grow wild for over 20 years. We caught up with Richard and Carole to hear the story of Chygurno in their own words. 

The House

We moved here 23 years ago. When we arrived,  the house had been unoccupied for 20 years and the garden had completely grown over. It had been on the market for 10 years when we finally managed to buy it. We saw the potential, it was just what we wanted – a house overlooking the sea. Even though at the time you couldn’t see the sea, because the garden was so overgrown. 

When we bought it, we first had to renovate the house because after 20 years of un-occupation, it needed a lot of work. At the same time, we started clearing the paths – of which there were only three at the time.  

We worked our way along, built the terraces because there was no flat ground, and put the deck on because there was nowhere we could sit in the sun. We added the conservatory on the house at the same time, because that really is the place where you sit and look at the view.   

The Garden

The garden originally looked across the valley, rather than down towards the sea. We changed it so that the axis of the garden goes along towards the sea now. It was totally overgrown, there were no paths, and you couldn’t even see the sea. The garden and the whole area were full of pine trees and brambles.  

We had to fight our way down to the bottom. We had huge bonfires and cleared vast amounts of trees and shrubs. It was a project, but that was why we had come. We had retired and we were looking for something to do. We like gardening, so why not? Over time we carried on, put more paths in and put more steps in.  We are lucky that, because of the climate, we can grow fairly exotic things here, even though most of the plants now are hardy.

After we had been here for about three or four years, somebody asked if they could look round the garden, so we showed them around. Then they asked if they could bring a group, so we said yes, ok. After that we thought, well we’d better get in touch with the National Garden Scheme, and we agreed to open for them twice a year at weekends. 

More people came, so we decided to open more often. We’re open Wednesday and Thursday afternoons during the summer now, from April to the end of September. We like having people visiting, it keeps us on our toes and keeps things looking nice. 

The History

The house was built for two suffragette ladies, Miss Bertrum and Miss Booth Scott. The ladies were quite particular in what they wanted. They designed the house and it’s all laid out just how they wanted it to be.  

There is very little written about them. We know they were suffragettes because they are mentioned in a little booklet about suffragettes written by somebody who worked for them and they were mentioned in a couple of articles in the local paper.   

They were very politically active to begin with, they set up the Women’s Social and Political Union, and they were active in suffragist movements for about three years as far as we can find from the literature.  

They used the house as a refuge for women coming out of prison on hunger strike, the women rested here and recuperated. At that time, the train from London to Penzance was quicker than it is now, so they were quite well-connected to London. It was when the area was known as the Cornish Riviera.   

Miss Booth Scott was mentioned in an article about dress design and cycle wear. She was obviously interested in the arts and design of clothing and Miss Bertrum exhibited jewellery in the gallery in Newlyn. They lived here until Miss Booth Scott died in the mid-twenties. Miss Bertrum stayed here until about 1942 or 1943 I think and then she moved to New Zealand.  

If you’d like to explore Chygurno Garden you can book a visit via the National Garden Scheme.