Tregenna Castle, Tregenna, St Ives

Royal Cornwall Gazette 23 May 1867
Death of Mr. Henry Lewis Stephens
Local Miscellany.
ST. IVES.—Intelligence reached St. Ives on Saturday of the death of Mr. Henry Lewes
(sic) Stephens, of Tregenna Castle. Though he had been in failing health for some years,
his death was sudden and unexpected.
Cornish Weekly Notes.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ROYAL CORNWALL GAZETTE.
SIR,—Conservatism has lost an unobtrusive but steadfast friend by the death of
Mr. Henry Lewis Stephens, of Tregenna Castle. For twenty years that gentleman had been
so much an invalid as to be wholly unable to discharge, by personal exertion, any public
duties; but he continued, as long as he possibly could, to inform himself of the course of
political affairs, and frequently shewed, in his correspondence, how well he mastered the
questions of the day, and how clear and keen his views were.
It was, I think, in 1844 or 1845 that the late Mr Stehens (sic) filled the office of high
sheriff for Cornwall, and his shrievalty was noted as the last occasion when a Cornish
gentleman welcomed Her Majesty's representatives at the head of his tenantry—a
remnant of the days of knights and esquires, barons and retainers, suits and services. Not
very long afterwards his physicians recommended Mr Stephens to try a winter in Madeira,
as a means of alleviating spasmodic asthma; but, from that day until the 17th instant, he
suffered, more or less, from this disorder, at times excruciatingly and for so prolonged a
period that death often seemed imminent. On Friday last he died, much to the regret of
numerous tenants in St. Ives, Lelant, Towednack, Zennor, St. Erme, St. Enoder, and
Ladock, to whom he had always been a kind and very considerate landlord.
More than two centuries and a half ago, Mr. John Stephens, of St. Ives, declined the
honour of knighthood at the hands of James the First: and his descendants, up to 1764,
seem to have preferred the true dignity of useful citizenship and an unsullied mercantile
name to any mere title or courtly favour. A century ago Mr. Samuel Stephens, grandfather
of the gentleman recently deceased, relinquished all mercantile pursuits and built
Tregenna mansion—a work which was much improved upon by Mr. H. L. Stephens a
quarter of a century since, when the castle was almost entirely rebuilt and a splendid
establishment kept up. To this Mr. Samuel Stephens succeeded in 1794 his second son,
Samuel, who married the only daughter of Admiral Wallis, the discoverer of Otaheite. This
lady was related to the well-known Cornish families of Hearle, Tremayne, &c. Her husband

sat twice for St. Ives, and died in 1834, when their second son, the subject of this
imperfect sketch, inherited the larger shares of the family estates, to which, in 1836, he
added Trengwainton, near Penzance, a purchase from the trustees of the late Sir Rose
Price, and disposed of recently to the present High Sheriff. Mr. John Augustus Stephens,
of London, his elder brother, the Rev. Ferdinand Stephens, rector of Mawgan, another of
five brethren, and Mrs. Davy, of Lymington, relict of the Rev. C. W. Davy, and the only
daughter of the late Mr. Samuel Stephens, survived the deceased. I have always heard
Mr. H. L. Stephens spoken of in terms of the highest respect. He was very benevolent. His
acquirements were solid and varied; his taste very refined. In the management of his
property he was clear-headed and liberal. He rebuilt most of his farm houses, &c., and
wished his tenants always to have six months' rent in hand, to give them time to realise
their produce. Indeed, he will be regretted by his tenantry as one who was a true
gentleman. I remember very well his wishes with respect to the last election at St Ives.
Penned in a beautifully-legible hand, that would have delighted Lord Palmerston, the
sentiments were expressed with a mingled lucidity and suavity that was charming. He had
no personal acquaintance with Mr. Paull; his tenants had been perfectly at liberty, on a
previous occasion, to vote for that gentleman or not: that liberty, to the very fullest
extent, they would continue to enjoy, indeed he expressly wished that they should not be
biassed or coerced in any way. Irrespective of politics, he had watched with intense
interest Mr. Paull's exertions to improve St. Ives harbour, and thought it was safer to
honour proved and valuable services than to make experiments and changes. This is my
jumbling way of expressing what was as clear as it seemed gentlemanly.
On application to those who know much more about this subject than I do, this estimate
of Mr. H. L. Stephens was given me:—"He was a man of no common powers of mind. In
the administration of his property he was actuated by a strict sense of justice, both as
regarded his duties towards his tenants and their duty towards him and the management
of his property. His acute perception enabled him to judge accurately of the characters of
the persons with whom he might be brought into contact. His command of language and
his choice of words, coupled with a terseness of expression and close reasoning, and,
withal, sound common sense, made his correspondence, even on matters of business,
most interesting." To one who was so thoughtful for others, at the least these few words
of respect are due.

Transcribed by Claudia Richards