Cornwall Living
She challenged an empire
Step inside one of Cornwall’s most remarkable true stories at The Story of Emily.
Emily Hobhouse was a Cornish humanitarian, pacifist and campaigner whose courage carried her from a quiet Cornish parish to South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, she exposed the devastating conditions endured by Boer women and children in British concentration camps, defying convention and challenging an empire in her determination to help others.
Her extraordinary life is brought vividly into the present through three connected experiences. In the beautifully restored Grade II listed Rectory, visitors enter Emily’s childhood home as it might have appeared in 1875. Richly detailed rooms and thoughtful storytelling reveal Victorian family life and the surroundings that helped shape her values.
The War Rooms then take visitors on a powerful, immersive journey through the conflict that changed Emily’s life. Film, sound, installations and virtual reality transport audiences from a Boer homestead and scorched-earth landscape to the concentration camps Emily fought to expose. Sensitively used, immersive technology invites visitors to witness, understand
and reflect.
The experience continues with the third chapter of the story in the Restaurant, with views across the Kitchen Garden. This taste of history offers a moment of restoration after the emotional intensity of the War Rooms, while continuing the story through South African heritage recipes from the late 1800s, reimagined with fresh Cornish ingredients. Venturing outside, visitors can explore the gardens, meet the estate’s animals, discover the Victorian Glasshouse and enjoy far-reaching countryside views.
The Story of Emily has received a 2026 THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement – the only UK recipient that year – VisitEngland Gold for New Tourism Business of the Year 2026, and the RIBA South West & Wessex Building of the Year Award 2025.