Bovey Castle

I made a brief mention of Bovey Castle in my January Odds and Sods but here is a post with a few more photos and some more history.

Today Bovey Castle is a hotel, which has probably saved it from wrack and ruin. It's a five star hotel as you might expect from these photos, so for some of us it's a once a year experience, but the beauty of a building like this being a hotel is that you can at least experience the opulence of days gone by if only over lunch. If you're a fan of Downton Abbey then it's well worth a visit. This is not just glamour on the surface it is detail in its bones. Down to the perfectly carved granite arches in the corridors. If you can stay for longer, even better.

Western Morning News - Tuesday 15 October 1907

Hon. W. F. D. SMITH’S NEW MANSION.

The mansion which has been in course of erection for over two years for the Hon. W. F. D. Smith, MP, near North Bovey, is approaching completion. It is a very imposing granite building in the Elizabethan style of architecture, with Darley Dale dressings, and the roof is of stone. The site is an exceedingly beautiful one, being close to the edge of the moor, with North Bovey village and its church nestling in the distance. The formation and laying out of the rock gardens and lakes in the extensive grounds are also nearly finished. The house, which is to be lighted by electricity, will be ready for occupation early next year. It is approached by a drive nearly a mile long, and there are two entrances with lodges, one from North Bovey and the other from the Princetown road.

How is that for a grand entrance? To get to this entrance though you pass a grand gatehouse which is probably bigger than your own home and then follow a curving drive through manicured grounds containing a golf course, for about a mile. It's probably not possible to see anything other than the grounds of the hotel from its hundreds of windows even when your view is two miles away.

East & South Devon Advertiser. - Saturday 28 March 1908

NORTH BOVEY MANOR HOUSE

HON. W. F. D. SMITH'S MANSION

Criminal as it may appear to some to be a millionaire, there are few such individuals in this land of ours who have a kindly thought and some consideration for their fellow creatures, and the Hon. W F D Smith, M.P.. the owner of ten thousand acres of land in and around North Bovey, may honestly be ranked among the best. When therefore some four years ago he moved in the matter of building for himself a new Devonshire seat, local Interest was created as to who would secure the contract and whether the erection of a magnificent mansion of nearly 70 rooms would be made as advantageous as one would wish to Devonshire workmen and the immediate neighbourhood in particular.

The reply to all this was distinctly In the affirmative, for not only was Mr Lewis Bearne, of the Highweek Joinery Works, Newton Abbot, entrusted with the contract for carrying out the designs of Mr W E Mills, the well-known architect of Oxford, but it was laid down that it should be of Dartmoor granite, quarried and worked on the estate, the dressings being of Darley Dale stone.....

Is this Rolls Royce owned by a guest? Or is it just part of the stylish decor?

........During the period of construction quite 300 men have been engaged in some capacity or other on the building, and consequently when Mr Smith invited the workmen to dinner about 200 were able to accept the owners hospitality. The bulk of the party met at Newton Station on Saturday morning, and journeyed by rail to Moreton, thence carriages to the Manor House, a distance of three miles. The drive, it being a lovely spring day, was thoroughly enjoyed.

A capital view of the extensive building—a reproduction of a fine old manor-house of the Elizabethan period— was obtainable long ere it was reached, but the party, entering by the North Bovey lodge, approached the mansion by a quadrangular courtyard, on the west side of which stands a noble archway and on the east a pair of gate-houses. Gaining access to the interior through the porch over which stands out in bold relief the arms of the Smith family, the visitors were confronted by the main hall, panelled in English oak, with a screen and minstrel gallery at the east end, and a handsome canopied and carved fireplace of Doulting stone. This lofty and commodious apartment, together with the dining room of massive proportions immediately adjoining on the left, were utilised by the caterers on Saturday for the accommodation of the couple hundred guests. The latter room is panelled in wainscot oak, and contains a handsomely carved Elizabethan mantelpiece, whilst the dainty parlour (the drawing-room of the present period), is fitted up in Adams' style and painted white.........

No surface is spared the attentions of a painter, a wood carver, or an artisan plaster worker. This is the Adams' style parlour.

.....The principal staircase, in rich English oak, leads to the first floor sitting room and handsome sleeping and dressing apartments, all painted white. The whole of the ceilings, excepting the parlour, are of Jacobean design, whilst the floors are mostly oak, although some of the secondary rooms are wood-blocked. A cursory glance is sufficient to show that substantial as the mansion is in its construction, home comforts have been studied by the architect, as well as artistic appearance, the three things being blended with distinct advantage to the owner. A wing at the east end provides accommodation for the butler's quarters, stillroom, kitchens, etc., the first floor being the day and night nurseries, and the second the servants bedrooms.

On the south front there is a very fine terrace, with a loggia as a garden entrance, from which access is gained to a pergola erected in the Italian style. Descending to the ornamental lakes, bathing pond, pleasure grounds, rustic bridges, and rock gardens, designed by a London firm, one catches another view of the manor hall, situate as it is on one of the highest points of that part of Dartmoor. With its roof of stone slates from the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, its gunmettle casement windows with lattice lights, and its two circular turret stair cases of stone, leading from the top floors direct to the open, the building gives every appearance of that solidity so necessary in such a wild and remote spot on the moors. The whole of the rooms are fitted with electric light; the generating station, together with the stables and motor house, are near Princetown road lodge. The house has its own water supply there being a reservoir with storage capacity of, 70,000 gallons, and provision is made by reels, hose, etc., against fire.; .......

Now that is a Doulting stone fireplace. So tall they had to put part of it upstairs.

.......The Chairman, received with enthusiasm, did not think Englishman could meet together without speeches, but his desire was that they should see the place and spend a pleasant afternoon rather than listen to speeches. There was one toast and that included all who had been engaged in building the house or the making of grounds. .......

......The toast, a three fold one, included Mr Mills, the architect, Mr Bearne, the contractor, and the workmen. They could each honour the toast of the other. (Applause). ......

...The house was built of their native rock and founded on the same, and he believed it was capable of lasting as many hundreds of years as had the houses which were built many hundreds of years ago, and adorned the most beautiful counties in England. (Applause)........ Mr Smith’s desire was that everything in the house should be of the best, and he could confidently say it was the best, and would avail himself of the opportunity of thanking the contractor—(applause)—the foremen, the workmen,and also Mr Best,the clerk of the works, for their kind cooperation with him in bringing the work to successful issue. .......

....Mr Lewis Bearne was glad of the opportunity of personally thanking Mr Smith, for whom many of those present had worked for the past 15 years. That was a long time, and he felt a distinct honour to himself and his men when Smith gave him the "job" which they had now all but completed. (Loud applause). .......

Chandeliers are a must even though candles were just departing the scene when this place was built, to be replaced with that new fangled electricity.

Rev.SD Dewey

....In his travels he had come across some very wretched cottages, unfit almost for human habitation, but the cottages to be found on Mr. Smith's estate were of a very different character indeed most suitable for the purpose for which they were erected. (Applause)....

....Soon after becoming rector for Moreton, Mr. Smith offered to build a house for him, and he now resided in one which was the envy of his clerical friends, who referred to him as a lucky beggar. (Laughter)....

....Continuing his good work Mr Smith set himself to restore Moreton Church, which was now the admiration of all who saw it. (Hear Hear).....

....One could not fail to notice the order in which these things were done. He first prepared for the tenants on his estate, then looked after their religious welfare and lastly looked out for himself and built his own home........Might the Manor House long stand as a credit to the workmen who built it, to Mr. Bearne for all his skill as contractor and Mr. Mills as an artist and an architect. (Applause)...

William Frederick Danvers Smith, 2nd Viscount Hambleden DL, known as Frederick Smith, was an English hereditary peer, businessman and politician. He studied at Eton, and New College, Oxford. Smith was involved in the management of the family business, W H Smith, which was founded by his grandfather, William Henry Smith. He inherited sole control of the business from his father in 1891. He served with the Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. Smith was made Honorary Colonel of the Royal Devon Yeomanry Artillery in 1922. Wikipedia

The ornate ceiling of the former Dining Room.

WH Smith PLC, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery.

The company was originated by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, the company began to focus on its core retail business. It was responsible for the creation of the ISBN book identifier.

WHSmith is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Its current market capitalisation is £1.53 Billion.

The Elizabethan style fireplace in the former Dining Room.

The Smith family sold The Manor House after Lord Hambleden's death in 1928 to The Great Western Railway for £15,000. The house was a mere twenty years old. It served as a hospital in both World Wars.

No baronial hall is fit for purpose without a minstrel's gallery.

Anyone for a spot of Boules?

It opened as a hotel and golf course in 1930. The Manor House was renamed Bovey Castle in 2003. The current owners The Eden Hotel Collection took over its guardianship in 2014, embarking on a multi-million pound refurbishment. "Since then Bovey Castle has won a multitude of awards and is now recognised as one of the most outstanding hotels in the British Isles." Bovey Castle