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Picture taken from Cape Cornwall Chimney. Porthledden is a 21 bedroom mansion with magnificent views across the Atlantic and a grand façade. The money that built Porthledden was made by enterprise in a bygone era.
Francis Oats grew up in St Just mining district in the middle of the 19th century.
Like most young men in the area, when he left school he went underground
But St Just couldn't hold him. He was already a mine captain by the time he was 23 and a few years later went off to seek his fortune in South Africa.
He started out as a mining engineer with diamond company De Beers but was invited onto the board of directors after only three years.
Apart from a few brief visits, Francis never really got to spend any time at the house.
He became a prominent citizen in South Africa, taking over as chairman of De Beers from Cecil Rhodes.
Francis Oats is remembered in St Just church but he died far away, stranded in South Africa by the First World War.
Francis Oats had invested heavily in Cornish mining, which after his death went into catastrophic decline.
The history of Porthledden mirrored this sad state of Cornish mining.
Francis' son turned it into hotel but it never really prospered, and the house was sold to pay off family debts after he died in the 1950s.
It will be a year before the restoration of Porthledden is finished - exactly a century since work started on the original.
It's a fitting tribute to the remarkable man who first dreamt of living at Porthledden.