# The ruins of Hoblyn



## Jodee1kenobi (Aug 18, 2014)

After googling away for places to visit before setting off on my family holiday I stumbled on this place. So once I got a morning to myself whilst down there I thought I would take a nice drive. The history to this place is very interesting as there was an inheritance mystery........

Shameless thievery off t'internet!!

_"Inheritance mystery[edit]
Francis Figg-Hoblyn, owner of the Fir Hill Manor estate, died in 1965. Upon his death he willed the property to his son, John Paget Figg-Hoblyn. However, John Paget Figg-Hoblyn had returned to the United States without making it clear he had accepted the inheritance.[4] For several decades John Paget's whereabouts were not exactly known.[4]

In 1994, Fir Hill Manor was the subject of a BBC Bristol documentary, The Curse of Fir Hill Manor, which told the story of former Newquay policeman Derek Fowkes as he searched for John Paget Figg-Hoblyn.[1] John Paget's cousin, John Westropp Figg-Hoblyn, a septuagenarian ex-farmer from Missouri, USA, and his wife Geraldine, had an idea that John Paget was living in a trailer park in the USA.[3][7] The exact address of their residence was still not known.[3][7]

The manor was valued at £5 million, as of 2007, and had a regular rental income of £88,000 a year from the five farms and six houses of the estate. The High Court was administering the estate through its Official Solicitor. The Manor was not in good shape even when Francis died in 1965. It was not in good shape when he inherited it from his aunts in the 1940s. [4][6] But over the years, due to continued neglect, its status has further deteriorated.[3][7] Francis Figg-Hoblyn and John Paget Figg-Hoblyn were unable to do anything to repair the Fir Hill Manor because of legal wrangling which continued until John Paget Figg-Hoblyn's death in 2011.[4][6] In 2007 and 2013 the property was valued at £5 million[3] though it was believed without the long drawn out legal process it could have been worth much more.[2]

In March 2013 the Daily Mail reported that the 100-year-old original will (which entitled only the male heir to inherit) had been redrawn in accordance with a judgement passed by the Court of Protection in London, to enable the sisters of John Paget Figg-Hoblyn, Margaret and Anne, to receive an amount of £1.3 million each from the sale proceeds of the estate and the Fir Hill Woods. The closest surviving male heir, John Westropp Figg-Hoblyn, was to get only £130,000.[2]

Finally, in 2011, the property which belonged to John Paget Figg-Hoblyn, and his father, Francis Figg-Hoblyn, was passed on to their next of kin after over 80 years of legal wrangling and the loss of the Fir Hill manor.[4][6] Though John Westropp Figg-Hoblyn wanted to live in the manor and develop the estate, another distant cousin, Charles Hoblyn, bought 60 acres (24 ha) of the estate, including the dilapidated Fir Hill Manor. Some of the remaining land has been sold to tenants, and the rest is still up for sale.[2] The Figg-Hoblyn family is retaining one historical cottage on the estate."_


As you can see as well as the estate being reduced to a mere 1000 acres, nature has been very successful in claiming Fir Hill Manor. The surroundings to this place are beautiful and well worth the walk around even if you don't fancy looking at the ruins.


Fir Hill Woods 9 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 2 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 1 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 3 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 4 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 5 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 6 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 7 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 8 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr



Fir Hill Woods 9 by jodeeonekenobi, on Flickr


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## Onmyown (Aug 18, 2014)

Nice report and pics, it must've been stunning in its day.


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## UrbanX (Aug 18, 2014)

Nice one, looks very chilled!


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## Jodee1kenobi (Aug 18, 2014)

Was very chilled  

Here's a bit more info I found.......

http://www.dailyfail.co.uk/news/article-2293296/The-5million-Cornwall-estate-left-ruins-rightful-male-heir-claim-40-years.html


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## tumble112 (Aug 18, 2014)

Nice pictures and a fascinating bit of history. Thanks.


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## flyboys90 (Aug 18, 2014)

Thats a heck of a story wonder how much the legal bill was in the end?Great photos and thanks for sharing.


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