A ‘financially struggling’ care worker who came into possession of a country estate after a DNA test confirmed he was the illegitimate son of its aristocratic owner faced court today accused of grievous bodily harm.

Jordan Adlard Rogers, 37, spent many years attempting to establish that Charles Rogers—whose family domicile is the 1,536-acre National Trust Penrose Estate in Cornwall—was indeed his father.

But when Charles died of a drug overdose in August 2019 at the age of 62, a test was finally carried out – and confirmed they were related.

Because Charles’ mother and brother were also deceased, Jordan was the sole heir to the estate.

He appeared at Truro Crown Court on Friday, September 26, charged with one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He was listed as Jordan Ross Adlard-Rogers of Penrose House, Penrose Estate, Penrose.

In court, dressed in a blue waistcoat, red tie, and a white shirt, he denied causing grievous bodily harm without intent, a charge under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, regarding an alleged incident involving Sebastian Winzar.

The charge is related to an alleged incident on July 13, 2024, in Porthleven, Cornwall.

A trial has now been set for March 9, 2026, with a pre-trial review on January 14. He was remanded on conditional bail.

Mr. Adlard-Rogers has resided at the estate for seven years, immersing himself in his new way of life and delving into the history of his newly discovered family.

He’s previously spoken about how much his life changed back in 2019 after the DNA test came back positive. 

Since he was eight, Jordan Adlard-Rogers held suspicions that Charles Rogers was his father and even proposed a DNA test back then, which never materialized.

When Mr Adlard-Rogers was 18 he attempted again to get a DNA test but was told to get it through the solicitors.

In his twenties he wrote letters but never got a reply until he got in touch with power of attorney Philip Care.

‘Philip said Charles didn’t want to do the test so I wrote one final letter with a DNA test kit enclosed and that was when Philip rang and told me Charles was dead,’ Adlard-Rogers said.

When the DNA results confirmed a positive match with the late 62 year old, he left his job as a care worker and moved into the estate in 2019, which the Rogers family have lived in between Helston and Porthleven in Cornwall for generations.

It was gifted to the National Trust in 1974 in exchange for a 1,000-year lease to continue living there.

Rogers stopped working and set up a charity to help the Porthleven and Helston communities.  

When Jordan Adlard-Rogers moved into the estate, he celebrated his inheritance with Chinese takeaways with his pregnant girlfriend Katie and 18 guests. 

Prior to that, he came from an impoverished and chaotic background living with his free-spirited single mother.

Adlard-Rogers said his mother confessed everything to him about his father who was last in line of an illustrious family when he was ten.

An inquest heard how Charles Rogers struggled with drug abuse for years and died of an overdose in his car outside his Grade-II listed farmhouse on the historic estate in 2019.

It found there were no suspicious circumstances and Rogers died on prescription medication. 

In the months leading up to his death he was malnourished, neglected personal hygiene and rarely changed his clothes in the months leading up to his death.

Instead of living in his lavish home, Charles was sleeping in his car.

The coroner was told the life tenant of the estate receives an income from a trust, and Charles was given a ‘substantial’ cash allowance ranging from £300 to £1,000 a week. 

The estate makes money from investments in stocks and shares and renting a number of parcels of land to local farmers. 

Mr Adlard-Rogers said he’s worked out other parts to his father’s background. 

‘Charles never actually lived in the estate. He lived in one of the estate’s farmhouses as his mum lived here so he never got the chance to inherit it.

‘They died two weeks apart.’

His paternal grandmother Angela, died at the age of 92.

‘It’d got to the point when he gave up on himself and was living in his car instead of his house as it was such a mess.

‘The Rogers family gave the National Trust 46 cottages and a couple of farms and now the Rogers Family Trust produces income for the life tenant.’

Mr Adlard-Rogers also learnt of other factors that contributed to his father’s drug addiction. 

‘There was always a pressure of him trying to match expectation,’ he added. 

‘His brother was a RAF pilot and his dad a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy so he had big shoes to fill.’

‘He was under huge pressure taking it on, but he was different and a free spirit.’

‘Charles served in the Army in Northern Ireland and I think this affected him greatly along with the death of his brother Nigel from cancer who he was very close to,’ said Adlard-Rogers.