SANDHILL HOUSE COUNTRY RETREAT - Key Persons
A house of silver grey stone, Antony is a beguiling mixture of the formal and informal. It's believed to be one of the finest surviving Queen Anne buildings in the West Country.
John Williams was a member of one of the wealthiest mining dynasties in Cornwall. His forebear James Williams arrived in Cornwall from Shropshire at the turn of the 17th Century. He held a prominent position in society and married Mary Drake, daughter of the vicar of Gwennap. James and Mary's grandson John Williams continued the successful enterprises and increased the family fortune. John Williams became one of Cornwall's greatest mine agents, making even more money by leasing out mineral rights on their land holdings. He was also a great innovator of mining methods and technology.