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Bovey Castle
Map
Hotel chainEden Hotel Collection
General information
TypeEnglish country house
Architectural styleNeo-Jacobean
LocationMoretonhampstead, Devon, England
Coordinates50°38′46″N 3°47′44″W / 50.646092°N 3.795516°W / 50.646092; -3.795516
Completed1908
ClientFrederick Smith
OwnerRigby Group
Design and construction
Architect(s)Walter Edward Mills
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameManor House Hotel, including terraces immediately to south-east
Designated16 January 1981
Reference no.1097161
Other information
Number of rooms59
Number of restaurants2
Number of bars1
Map
Restaurant information
Rating 5 red stars (The AA)

Bovey Castle, formerly the Manor House Hotel, is a large early 20th-century mansion on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, near Moretonhampstead, Devon, England. It is a Grade II* listed building[1] and is now a hotel with 59 individually designed bedrooms in the hotel and 22 three-storey country lodges nearby.[2]

History

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Construction

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The house started construction in 1907 for Frederick Smith, Lord Hambleden, the son and heir of the Conservative politician and stationery magnate William Henry Smith. Contemporary news reporting and a plaque within the building note the architect as Walter Edward Mills,[3][4][5] although the official listing lists the architect as Detmar Blow.[6]

The building is built of granite quarried within the wider estate, with dressings of stone from Darley Dale in Derbyshire.[3] Over 300 people worked on the construction of the building, and the completion was celebrated with a grand dinner for them in March 1908.[3]

Wartime service

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In 1917, due to World War I, the manor house was opened for the use of wounded soldiers.[7]

Conversion to a hotel

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Following the death of Lord Hambleden, there were significant death duties to be paid,[8] and the estate was sold off by lots at auction in 1928, along with over 5,000 acres of land and the entire village of North Bovey.[9] The following year, it was announced that the main manor house and 200 acres of land had been sold to the Great Western Railway for conversion into a hotel.[10][11][12] The provision of activities including fishing, croquet, and the possibility of the construction of a golf course on site were emphasised from the announcement.[13]

The hotel opened in 1929 as the "Manor House Hotel".[14] The following year, on Whitsun 1930, the new 18-hole golf course opened at the hotel,[15][16] designed by John Frederick Abercromby.[17][18] The following year, a group of noted golf professionals played at the Manor House Hotel course, at the invitation of Viscount Churchill, chairman of the Great Western Railway.[19]

The nationalisation of the railways in 1948 led to the hotel being part of the British Transport Commission's Hotels Executive, which eventually became the British Transport Hotels portfolio.

Privatisation

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Privatisation of British Rail, including the hotel portfolio, saw the property sold into the private sector in 1983. It was initially sold with seven other British Transport Hotels to the Virani brothers, but was re-sold within 48 hours to Eclipsecare.[20]

Eclipsecare maintained ownership of the hotel under its Crown Hotels group until 1991 when the group went into receivership.[21][22] The hotel continued to trade, and do good business, whilst the parent company was in administration.[23]

Expansion and name change

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Entrepreneur Peter de Savary, also then the owner of Skibo Castle, purchased the Manor House Hotel in 2003 for £7.5 million.[24] The hotel continued to trade during 2003, and was closed in early 2004 for a full refubishment.[25]

de Savary undertook extensive renovation and extension of the property, rebranding the hotel as Bovey Castle.[26][27][28] The expansion included the building of a new wing on the main building, containing a swimming pool and new brasserie restaurant, as well as the building of 22 lodges in the grounds.[27]

In 2006 de Savary sold Bovey Castle to Hilwood Resorts for over £26m.[29][30] Hilwood put the hotel up for sale for £17.5m in 2012,[31] and was eventually sold in 2015 to the Rigby Group, forming part of their Eden Hotel Collection.[8][32]

The castle was used as the venue for the wedding of diver Tom Daley and his husband, Dustin Lance Black, in May 2017.[33]

Recognition

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Bovey Castle is rated as 5 star, and an "Inspector's Choice Hotel" by The AA, as well as having 3 rosettes for the main restaurant and 1 for the brasserie.[34] The Eden Hotel Collection which it is part of was named Small Hotel Group of the Year in the 2024 AA Hospitality Awards.[35][36]

The hotel was named as Large Hotel of the Year at the South West Tourism Awards in 2024, following a win at the Devon Tourism Awards.[37]

Architecture

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The main building was built in 1907 in Jacobean style, with a Great Hall into which a floor was inserted in the 1980s. The interior is of high quality, with panelled rooms and elaborately carved features. Extensions were built in the 1930s.[1] The garden front is set above terraces overlooking a lake and the River Bovey.

Incidents

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In September 2016, 13 people were injured when a balcony collapsed at the hotel.[38][39]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bovey Castle". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Bovey Castle - Luxury English Castle Hotel in Dartmoor National Park, Devon". www.celticcastles.com. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "North Bovey Manor House". The East & South Devon Advertiser. 28 March 1908.
  4. ^ Harmer, V (2003). Manor House Hotel, North Bovey, 1-4 (Report - Assessment).
  5. ^ "Bovey Castle, North Bovey". Heritage Gateway: Devon & Dartmoor HER. Historic England.
  6. ^ "MANOR HOUSE HOTEL INCLUDING TERRACES IMMEDIATELY TO SOUTH EAST". Historic England.
  7. ^ "North Bovey". Western Times. 11 May 1917.
  8. ^ a b Tift, Duncan (23 June 2014). "Rigby expands Eden Hotel Collection with Devon acquisition". The Business Desk.
  9. ^ "North Bovey Manor: Sale of Lord Hambleden's Estate". Western Times. 9 November 1928.
  10. ^ "North Bovey Manor: Residence of late peer to become an hotel". Western Morning News. 7 March 1929.
  11. ^ "Another G.W.R. Hotel". Cornishman. 11 April 1929.
  12. ^ "Hotel on edge of Dartmoor". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 9 April 1929.
  13. ^ "Veritable sun-trap on Dartmoor: New G.W.R. luxury hotel of the West". Langport & Somerton Herald. 13 April 1929.
  14. ^ "Manor House Hotel". Illustrated London News. 15 June 1929.
  15. ^ "Dartmoor Golf - Sporting course at G.W.R. Luxury Hotel". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 7 June 1930.
  16. ^ "New Gold Course - Railway Enterprise at Moretonhampstead". Western Morning News. 6 June 1930.
  17. ^ "JF Abercromby". Evalu18. 20 May 2019.
  18. ^ Cornish, Geoffrey S (1987). The Golf Course. New York: Rutledge Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780831739430.
  19. ^ "Golf - Professionals in Devon". Western Morning News. 28 April 1931.
  20. ^ "Hotel is resold". Herald Express. 26 April 1983. p. 3.
  21. ^ "'Troubled hotel' seeks staff". Herald Express. 30 April 1991. p. 7.
  22. ^ "Interest by buyers in hotel". Herald Express. 8 April 1991. p. 3.
  23. ^ "It's boom time at 'troubled' hotel". Herald Express. 14 May 1991. p. 25.
  24. ^ "Manor House Hotel sold for £7.5m". EGI Radius. 10 December 2002.
  25. ^ "De Savary acquires Manor House Hotel". Golf Business News. 3 February 2003.
  26. ^ Lake, Emma (1 November 2022). "Entrepreneur Peter de Savary who transformed more than 60 hotels dies". The Caterer.
  27. ^ a b Aslet, Clive (29 April 2004). "Interview with Peter de Savary". Country Life. pp. 104–105.
  28. ^ Dennier, Clive (9 July 2003). "Cheeky de Savary tries to woo Skibo clients to latest venture". Aberdeen Press and Journal. p. 11.
  29. ^ Patenall, Helen (20 September 2006). "De Savary sells Bovey Castle to Hilwood Resorts". Health Club Management.
  30. ^ "de Savary sells Bovey Castle for £26m". Wiltshire Times. 2 November 2006.
  31. ^ "Bovey Castle for sale for £17.5m". Foodservice News. 22 May 2012.
  32. ^ Harmer, Janet (5 June 2014). "Bovey Castle sold to Eden Hotel Collection for undisclosed sum". The Caterer.
  33. ^ "Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black marry at Devon hotel". BBC News. 6 May 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Bovey Castle". AA Rated Trips.
  35. ^ "Devon hotel lands prestigious award". Visit Devon. 27 September 2024.
  36. ^ McCrum, Kirstie (28 September 2024). "Stunning Dartmoor hotel named one of UK's best for second time in a decade". Devon Live.
  37. ^ Duma, Corina (22 March 2024). "Bovey Castle wins Gold at 2024 South West Tourism Awards". Hotel Owner.
  38. ^ "Ten hurt in balcony collapse during 'impromptu party' in Devon". BBC News. 19 September 2016.
  39. ^ "Investigation into Bovey Castle balcony collapse". Mid-Devon Advertiser. 19 September 2016.
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