A house so beautiful that it entranced Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle — who bought it on the spot
The creator of Sherlock Holmes spend the final years of his life at this magical New Forest hideaway.
The New Forest was a source of inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who is said to have discovered secluded Bignell Wood at Brook, near Lyndhurst, when researching the material for The White Company (1891), his historical novel about the Hundred Years War.
He was so taken with the house, which sits just inside the national park and is also unlisted, that he bought it as a birthday present for his second wife, Jean, and lived there from 1924 until his death in 1930. It was here that he wrote The Adventure of the Retired Colourman (1927), one of the last of his 56 novels and short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, reputedly sitting at his desk in the drawing room, looking out across the gardens to the forest beyond.
The house is for sale through George Clarendon of Knight Frank in Winchester at a guide price of £3.25 million, and you can see why Conan-Doyle was entranced. Bignell Wood is set in six tranquil acres of woodland gardens and grounds, and has been beautifully restored by its present owners.
They might be leaving the house, but they're not leaving the New Forest: they plan instead to move deeper into the forest, according to Mr Clarendon.
It offers a total of eight reception rooms — among them a playroom, an office and a boot room, as well as the usual living spaces — and a Plain English kitchen, which opens out onto a dining room that has french windows opening onto the grounds.
Upstairs there are seven bedrooms (it could be eight, depending on how you configure the space) and four bathrooms.
The house also has a garage, a gym and a picturesque, one-bedroom cottage reached by a wooden footbridge and a winding path. It's ideal guest accommodation... but it sounds like it'd make a wonderful spot to sit, enjoy the tranquility, and write a few detective stories.
Bignell Wood is for sale through Knight Frank — see more details.
