How the Idyllic Cornish Estate 'Menabilly' inspired novelist Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier was born at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regents Park, London, on 13th May, 1907. One of three daughters of famous actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and
actress Muriel Beaumont. George du Maurier, who was her paternal grandfather, was an author and Punch cartoonist. Was it pure coincidence that the Rashleigh family, whose estate would leave such a lasting impact and legacy on the novelist, once lived in that same street?
Her childhood days were at Cannon Hall, Hampstead and summers were spent at their
summer home in Bodinnick, near the coastal town of Fowey, Cornwall. On a walk climbing Gribbin Head, she saw the outline of a building, almost hidden by trees. This sighting in 1927
intrigued her, was it the ivy strewn windows or the sense of mystery and abandonment
that drew her?
“I paused, stung by the beauty of that first pink glow of sunrise on water but the path led on and I would not be deterred. Then I saw them for the first time – the scarlet rhododendrons. Massive and high they reared above my head, shielding the entrance to a long smooth lawn. I was hard upon it now, the place I sought . . My house of secrets. My elusive Menabilly.”
She married Major Frederick Browning in 1932 and had three children. She never forgot the old house and spent many years asking the owners, the Rashleigh family if she could lease it from them. In 1937 her wishes came true. After much restoration she moved in with her family, at Christmas 1943. Her love affair with the house lasted 27 years and the sense of freedom and inspiration of the Cornish coastal estate, delivered 16 novels from her eager typewriter.
Discovering a skeleton had been found in the house, in a bricked up basement in the 1820's,
she was keen to learn the true story. Dressed as a cavalier, the story of the body of a soldier led to the novel, 'The Kings General'. Other works included: 'Jamaica Inn', 'Rebecca', 'Frenchman's Creek', 'My Cousin Rachel', 'The Scapegoat', 'The Birds' and 'Don't Look Now'.
The lease expired in 1969 and the family felt a wrench when they had to leave.
Her children loved the space, growing up in the house and of Cornwall itself. Many years later in 1989, she asked a friend to drive her to Pridmouth Cove, where many family memories had been made.The nearest bay to Menabilly, it was to be her last visit. Her ashes were to be scattered around the cliffs and paths of Kilmarth and Menabilly, entwined within
the legends, lands and sea that whispered softly to her.
English porcelain plate with Rashleigh of Menabilly family coat of arms offered by Kingschina
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