Lewtrenchard Manor

Lewtrenchard-Member of Von Essen Hotels a private collection of individual country houses in the UK- Scotland and France-Runner-up Room for Romance Hotel of the Year award 2005. A Jacobean Manor tucked away in its own secret valley. Hidden away in a wooded hollow just beneath the wild tors of Dartmoor- Lewtrenchard is a house virtually untouched by time. The original manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book- but todays impressive Jacobean dwelling- set in its own shrub filled gardens and surrounded by peaceful parkland- dates from the early 1600 s. Over the years it was home to a series of colourful characters; James Gould- one the earliest adventurers to trade on the Chinese mainland- Edward Gould the compulsive gambler and suspected murderer- and the Reverend Sabine Baring Gould- celebrated hymn writer and novelist who composed Onward Christian Soldiers at the desk that still stands in the front hall. This house- steeped in history- is large enough to be imposing- yet not so grand as to be unwelcoming. Stepping over the ancient slate floor in the impressive hallway one immediately feels very much at home.