# Port Eliot > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Port_Eliot > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Port_Eliot.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Eliot > Source revision: 1354139996 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the town in South Australia, see [Port Elliot, South Australia](/source/Port_Elliot,_South_Australia). **Port Eliot** in the parish of [St Germans](/source/St_Germans,_Cornwall), [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall), England, United Kingdom, is the ancestral [seat](/source/Family_seat) of the [Eliot family](/source/Eliot_family_(South_England)), whose present head is [Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans](/source/Earl_of_St_Germans). Port Eliot comprises a stately home with its own church, which serves as the parish church of [St Germans](/source/St_Germans,_Cornwall). An earlier church building was Cornwall's principal [cathedral](/source/Cathedral). The house is within an estate of 6,000-acre (2,400-hectare) which extends into the neighbouring villages of [Tideford](/source/Tideford), [Trerulefoot](/source/Trerulefoot) and [Polbathic](/source/Polbathic). Both house and garden are [Grade I listed](/source/Listed_building).[1] ## History Originally built as a [priory](/source/Priory) with adjoining [St Germans Priory Church](/source/St._German's_Priory), parts of the house date back to the 12th century. It was substantially altered and remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries by noted architects, including [Sir John Soane](/source/John_Soane). In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Eliot family invested substantially in the estate, building numerous farmhouses, fishermen's cottages and other dwellings across the land. Many of these remain part of the estate to this day, and they are rented out to local residents and friends of the family. Some properties, mainly lying remote from the estate, have been sold in recent years.[2] In 2014, 1,800-acres (700-hectares) of the estate was purchased by the [Duchy of Cornwall](/source/Duchy_of_Cornwall).[3] ## Festivals ### Elephant Fayre Main article: [Elephant Fayre](/source/Elephant_Fayre) In 1980 a small festival which had outgrown its site at [Polgooth](/source/Polgooth) in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds. The estate office agreed a price, and there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s. The festival ran from 1981 to 1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, and featured a mix of music, theatre and visual arts. Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as [The Cure](/source/The_Cure), [The Fall](/source/The_Fall_(band)) and [Siouxsie and the Banshees](/source/Siouxsie_and_the_Banshees). The burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders in 1985 prompted [Lord Eliot](/source/Peregrine_Eliot,_10th_Earl_of_St_Germans) and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last. ### Port Eliot Festival In 2003 [Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans](/source/Peregrine_Eliot,_10th_Earl_of_St_Germans) began the [Port Eliot Lit Fest](/source/Port_Eliot_Lit_Fest) in Cornwall.[4] Which carried on as Port Eliot Festival until 2019.[5] ## Public access In March 2008 the house and grounds opened to the public for the first time,[6] for 100 days, and attracted 12,000 visitors. There is a shop and cafe with gardens open all year round. Guided tours of the house are available.[1] ## References 1. ["Port Eliot: House and Gardens"](http://www.porteliot.co.uk/) 1. Letcher, Lisa (11 April 2022). ["Cornwall estate sells off homes leaving tenants devastated"](https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/port-eliot-estate-sells-homes-6935503). *Cornwall Live*. Retrieved 8 July 2025. 1. ["Purchase of farmland in Cornwall: Port Eliot Southern Estate"](https://duchyofcornwall.org/news/purchase-of-farmland-in-cornwall-port-eliot-southern-estate/). Duchy of Cornwall. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241008172444/https://duchyofcornwall.org/news/purchase-of-farmland-in-cornwall-port-eliot-southern-estate/) 8 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 July 2025. 1. ["Port Eliot Lit Fest"](http://www.porteliotfestival.com/) 1. ["The final Port Eliot Festival"](https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2019-07-25/the-last-port-eliot-festival-kicks-off-today). *ITV News*. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2021-11-09. 1. Kennedy, Maev (3 March 2008). ["Doors opened at the treasure house History tumbles forth as Eliot family unveils Cornish home and gardens as a requirement of tax deal"](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/mar/03/heritage.art). *Guardian* ## External links - [Port Eliot Official Website](http://www.porteliot.co.uk/) - [Port Eliot Festival](http://www.porteliotfestival.com/) - [Port Eliot LitFest Archive](http://www.artytechs.com/litfest/archivelitfest.htm) - [BBC News on the Elephant Fayre](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4103468.stm) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Port Eliot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Eliot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Eliot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.