Two, To One, Be

By Carrie Carlson

In 2009, a few inspired individuals took notice of the plight of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former home 'Undershaw' in Hindhead, Surrey and determined that it was up to them to do something about it. Banding together, they found a way to create a window for spreading their passion and energy outwards to the world around them. In the years that have followed, that window has grown into a vast portal, through which thousands of devoted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes fans from all over the world have gained (and seized) the opportunity to have a very tangible impact on the preservation of Doyle's legacy.

For those involved, Undershaw is infinitely more than 'just a house'. The purpose of this book is to hold a proverbial hand lens to that deeper meaning in hopes of capturing some small part of the deep emotion it represents. In the pages that follow, you will find an eclectic collection of essays, original artwork, and photography created by supporters and ambassadors from a wide range of countries, all of which in some way address the same set of questions: What is it about Undershaw that has the power to drive such a wide range of people from all over the globe (most of whom have never met one another in person) to join hands in support of protecting something that for many is thousands of miles away in a foreign country? How has the campaign or the property itself touched the lives of those who have come into contact with it and what sorts of experiences have people had as a result? Our intention here is to create a kind of insightful snapshot of these things as both a form of reverent acknowledgement for the efforts that have been put forth thus far, as well as a source of inspiration for the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MX Publishing
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780925332

Book preview

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Introduction

The Adventure of the Empty House

John Gibson

Undershaw has stood at Hindhead crossroads at a height of about 800 feet for, at the time of writing, almost 120 years. I have known the property for about half that period. In the 1990s I corresponded with the owners (the Bridgers) in the hope of an eventual sale. The property came on the market in 2003 and sold in a short time to Fossway Limited before Richard Lancelyn Green, my friend and associate could muster resources. The sale was completed in February 2004 for £1.1M, a month before Richard’s tragic death.

The hoteliers who occupied the property at the time, reluctantly vacated in May 2005 and the building has remained vacant for the last 9 years.

I was passing the property in May 2006 and was shocked by its condition. Lead had been stripped from the roof and rainwater had penetrated all three floors of the building - there was also no security on site. I contacted the Victorian Society and an application was made for Grade I status to confer extra protection; Undershaw was given grade II listing in the mid 1970s. English Heritage rejected the request, and also the appeal, amongst their reasons for refusal was Doyle’s merit as a writer compared with Jane Austen and Charles Dickens - their houses being Grade I.

On the 20th December 2006 the full planning committee of Waverley Borough Council rejected Fossway’s application to divide the house into apartments and build houses in the grounds. I made an urgent appeal, on countering the application at the meeting, for security for the building and for it to be made weather protected - that was complied with the following month.

An urgent Repair Notice was served on the owners of the property in November 2008 but regrettably was not complied with, instead Waverley Borough Council entered into discussions with the owners architect to sub-divide and add to the property to make 8 separate houses.

I registered The Undershaw Preservation Trust (UPT) in 2008 with Lynn Gale and Sue Meadows. UPT became more active in campaigning to save the building from development. Lynn Gale was very successful in securing the support of many notable people, too numerous to mention here, but a great thank you for all your support - success could not have been achieved without it and the campaign would have lacked major impact.

On the 10 June 2010, despite a huge campaign against the aforementioned 8 houses - Waverley Borough Council granted permission. This was a disaster - all we had worked for now lay in ruin. This planning permission could now, only be contested on ‘points of law’, not on planning criteria or the defects in the proposed development but purely on any mistakes made in the administration and procedure in handling the application by Waverley Borough Council - a tall order.

We were not eligible for legal aid and Waverley Borough Counsel would almost certainly have a Queen’s Counsel leading against us in the High Court in Central London. Although only given a ‘one in three’ chance of success by informed legal opinion, I embarked on the case in full knowledge that if we lost, I would also pick up the cost of Waverley Borough Council’s legal expenditure. That is why there are not many Judicial Reviews embarked on by single individuals.

On the 23rd May 2012 Queen’s Counsels argued this case at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand. A week later it was announced that we had won and that the planning decision of 2010 was quashed. This case was not won on ‘a technicality’ as claimed by the opposition; anyone legally inclined and keen can consult the Journal of Planning Law for September 2012 where the full reasons for the decision are set out in detail. I understand this case cost Waverley Borough Council £70,000.

Since the decision of the High Court an application has again been made to English Heritage, this time in much more detail and with more evidence, to award Grade I status to Undershaw - a decision in this respect is now expected later this year (2014) - this time we have reasons to believe we are much more likely to succeed.

Finally, as you are probably aware a private educational establishment for autistic children has within the last few weeks purchased Undershaw to be used as a secondary school of world gold standard for their charitable foundation. This should be a sympathetic use for the building, and allow limited public access (particularly in school vacations) and restore Undershaw to its glory of 1900 - at no cost to the public purse. All options will still be open for Undershaw in the future, this is, in my opinion, a fine outcome, and one in which Conan Doyle as a medical man would surely have approved.

This account has been given to help readers who may not have been too clear on some of the events of the campaign over almost the last decade. However, I intend, if at all possible, and health permitting, to write a full account of all details that eventually saved Undershaw from, in the words of the planning officer of Waverley Borough Council, ‘8 lock-up and leave’ houses. This would have also involved the stables being converted to a double garage and the well buried under the floor of the living room of the first of the new houses. So much for the establishments protection of Britain’s literary heritage, and thank god for interested private individuals with Sherlockian tenacity to show the proper way.

A huge thank you for everyone involved in this vital endeavour. Sherlock Holmes would surely have been proud of this resolution of, hopefully, the ultimate final problem for Undershaw.

Image 1: John Gibson surrounded by books in his study in 1982. Permission granted by John Gibson.

I was extremely shocked when I visited Undershaw. To think that the house where Doyle wrote ‘The Return’ and ‘The Hound’ should be left to crumble is a national disgrace. It would be wonderful to think that it could become the site of a Conan Doyle museum and its regeneration would, I’m sure it would make the whole area a focal point for Holmes fans around the world

- Mark Gatiss

Image 2: Supporters stand in front of Undershaw displaying ‘Save Undershaw’ signs and UPT banners. Permission granted by Sue Meadows and photographer Phil O’Connor.

Holmes on Homes

Hugh Ashton

Sherlock Holmes stretched out his long legs towards the warmth of the fire, and ruminated aloud. It has long been my opinion, Watson, that houses and homes provide a vital clue to the characters of their owners. Consider, for example, my own little achievements, and how intimately they have been bound up in so many instances with the building associated with them. Can you, for example, recall the dark atmosphere of Baskerville Hall?

Indeed I can, I answered with a shudder. The feeling was enough to provoke a feeling of gloom, even without the legends attached to it.

Or let us take the house at Norwood constructed and inhabited by Mr. Jonas Oldacre. I pride myself on being free of superstitious fancies, but even to me, an air of evil seemed to have attached itself to that building.

Or Wisteria Lodge, or the Copper Beeches, I added. Each of these had its own particular feeling associated with it.

Quite so, my friend agreed. Take the case of the home that your literary agent, Mr. Conan Doyle, has had built for himself.

How would you describe his character, then, based on your visit to Undershaw?

Holmes put his fingers together and leaned back with his eyes closed in that attitude I knew so well, which always betokened thought. A generous man, and convivial I would say, given the size of the dining-room, relative to the size of his family.

There are fourteen bedrooms, also, I informed Holmes.

"A man who loves company, then. A man of pleasing eccentricity in many respects - the unusual doors which open both ways