Undershaw

Undershaw is a former residence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Location

The house is located close to the A3 road in the village of Hindhead in Surrey, near the larger town of Haslemere and about 40 miles south of London. The house is situated amid large trees, with a view of an undeveloped valley extending to the South Downs.

Construction and style

Doyle commissioned the construction on the site in the late 1890s. The builder was architect Joseph Henry Bell, and the style is 'Surrey-vernacular'. The house is largely composed of red brick and is asymmetrical. The house was built to cater to the needs of Doyle's wife Louise, who suffered from tuberculosis; doctors of the era recommended healthy air, for which Surrey was known. Another factor in the construction was the large windows which let in more light, intended to provide a cheerful indoor environment. The windows also featured specially manufactured stained glass with a coat of arms said to be that of Doyle's family; many of these have not survived the attacks of vandals in recent years.

The doors of the house are also unusual in that they open both ways. The current internal layout has 14 bedrooms, with a size of 10,000 square feet.

Doyle's three-storey home featured a grand staircase of shallow steps, to prevent Louise Doyle from becoming winded on the way upstairs. It also featured a billiards room and Doyle's private book-lined study, where the author wrote some of his best-known work.

History

Doyle and his wife lived at Undershaw for a decade, from 1897 to 1907; Doyle moved after Louise's death in 1906. The house was the place where many of Doyle's most famous works were composed, including The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the stories that made up The Return of Sherlock Holmes in which Doyle brought Holmes back to life after the fictional detective had seemingly perished while grappling with his archenemy Professor Moriarty on a cliff at Reichenbach Falls.

Controversy

The house was converted into a hotel not long after Doyle sold it. The hotel closed in 2004, and the building been vacant since. On 18 August 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that plans are underway to remake the home into a multi-unit apartment building, stating "The hammers start raining blows on Undershaw as early as next month."

The plan is opposed by preservationists, who want to see the home converted into a museum dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, the Waverley Borough Council declined to buy Undershaw from the developer for nearly $2.5 million dollars. The council's chief of planning, Matthew Evans, stated "We don't have that kind of money. We have to tighten our belts."

Preservationists were frustrated when attempts to promote Undershaw into the top rank of protected buildings failed. A government report stated that the house was not architectually notable, and that Doyle himself was not of the same standing as Jane Austen or Charles Dickens.