About Gidleigh Park
Set majestically on the bubbling upper reaches of the River Teign, Gidleigh Park enjoys an exquisite location on the very edge of Dartmoor National Park. Famed for its culinary credentials and award-winning restaurant, Gidleigh Park offers an air of tranquillity and romance within a Tudor-style country house, beautifully furnished by the Brownsword family and set within 107 acres of mature grounds.
History
The Prouz family lived in Gidleigh from the reign of William the Conqueror until the 17th Century. They owned the castle with extensive parkland, including the old manor which no longer stands, and the “Park House” which was built in the 16th Century. The Park House was a two-storey thatched house with short wings, facing east towards the river below. Its main drive was from Gidleigh itself, a half-mile track downhill from the church. Today this path runs through the fields at the back of the house.
The house passed through several owners before being bought in 1660 by Bartholomew Gidleigh. The Gidleigh family owned the property until 1819 when it was bought by Dr. J. Whipham, whose family retained ownership of the estate for nearly 100 years. In 1918 the entire Gidleigh Park estate was put up for sale. The estate, which included the manor, the Barton, the Park House and a total of 608 acres was bought by an Australian sheep farmer and shipping magnate, Charles Harold Campbell Mcllwraith. He decided to live at Gidleigh Park and in 1925 he engaged Stanley Philpot, an architect and surveyor from Tunbridge Wells, to draw plans for the rebuilding of Gidleigh Park. The house was completed in four years. However, in 1932 Mcllwraith died prematurely at the age of 57 and the Gidleigh Park estate was put up for sale for £15,000.
The house was converted into a small and simple hotel in 1955. When Paul and Kay Henderson took it over in December 1977, the hotel and grounds were in a bad state of repair but, over the years, they did a great deal of work raising it to a level it had never previously enjoyed and, under their ownership, it gained an enviable reputation. They owned and managed Gidleigh Park for 27 years until 2005 when they sold it to Andrew and Christina Brownsword who, before taking ownership, had for years enjoyed the hotel as a place to relax with their family. In 2007 the hotel was closed for ten months to undergo a complete refurbishment and today it is regularly listed as one of the finest country house hotels in Britain.
Rooms
The 24 luxurious guest rooms (bedrooms, Spa suite and the Pavilion) offer comfort and style, each decorated with period furniture and complemented by contemporary bathrooms.
Dining & Drinking
At the heart of the hotel is the award-winning restaurant, an intimate dining area with magnificent views across the hotel’s beautiful gardens. Dining at Gidleigh Park offers a memorable culinary experience with a focus on creating unique dishes full of flavour, underpinned by a contemporary, less formal approach to fine cuisine.
Gardens
This Tudor-style house sits in 107 acres of gardens and woodland on the northern bank of the North Teign River in Dartmoor National Park. Guests are able to expend some energy on the croquet lawns, Peter Alliss designed 18-hole putting green or grass tennis court. A walk through the bluebell woods in the grounds in spring is quite magical and meandering through the kitchen garden, resisting the temptation to eat the produce then and there, is a tantalising way to while away an afternoon.
Andrew Brownsword Hotels
Gidleigh Park is part of Andrew Brownsword Hotels.
Comprised of thirteen properties in countryside settings and city centre locations, the collection is owned by Christina and Andrew Brownsword CBE DL who strive to create very special places that truly embody their own ethos of great hospitality.