I therefore caught a train to Guildford, finding the minibus waiting a short distance away, climbing on and waiting for the other passengers. The bus slowly filled up, but we were still waiting one final passenger. Finally, we had to leave without him. The minibus swiftly made its was to the A3 and the Hindhead Tunnel, before pulling to a halt at the top of the long drive down to the house.
Walking down, having arrived at the same time as several other Society members, soon we were down by the house, with its plaque indicating its former resident.
The house was specially commissioned by ACD for his wife, Louisa (known as Touie) who was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) in
1893. ACD moved her and other members of his family to
Switzerland for the clean air. However, ACD’s literary friend Grant
Allan was a fellow TB sufferer who stated that the air in
Hindhead, Surrey’s highest point, had added years to his life.
Following this discussion, ACD decided to buy a plot of land which he
described in a letter to his mother:
'I rushed down
to Hindhead where I bought an admirable plot of ground, put the
architectural work into the hands of my old friend (Henry) Ball of
Southsea, and saw a builder chosen and everything in train before
leaving England. ...If Egypt was a success, we should have a roof of our
own to which to return'. 'The thought of it brought renewed hope to the
sufferer' (Touie)
After visiting the site ACD commented:
'If we could have ordered nature to construct a spot for us, it could not have hit upon anything more perfect.'
The house was named Undershaw by ACD although there are conflicting reasons for the choice of name. Some believe that the name Undershaw derived from the fact that the house’s position was downhill from George Bernard Shaw’s house "Blen Cathra" in Hindhead, now the site of St Edmund's School, thus literally ‘under Shaw’. Others maintain that the name was derived from the Angelo Saxon word ‘shaw’ meaning a nearby grove of hanging trees.
The building is now a school with a new extension (more details later) and I made my way to the school hall (part of the new part of the building) for the first talk of the day, "Arthur Conan Doyle: An Edinburgh Man", being given by Ann Treherne of Edinburgh's Arthur Conan Doyle Centre (which I had seen as part of the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015). This talk focused on ACD's early life in Edinburgh, his interest in art and music (activities undertaken by the Centre) and his involvement in Spiritualism (the Centre contains a Spiritualist Church).
Next it was time for the main event - a tour of the building. Starting outside by the Stables (outside which Shaun the Sheep was standing guard) which have been converted into accommodation for staff, we made our way back into the main building, through the large entrance door (to allow access for Touie's bathchair) visiting the Billiard Room first with its strangely sited fireplace (to avoid interfering with play).
Next up was ACD's Study (now the Headmistress' office), where he wrote probably the best known Sherlock Holmes adventure, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (and his historical novel, 'Sir Nigel').
Moving on we made our way upstairs via the new part of the building to first Sir Arthur's bedroom and then Touie's bedroom (the much larger one).
Moving back into the corridor, we were able to see the stained glass window created by ACD featuring various family crests, his initials, a Thistle (representing himself) and an English Rose (representing Touie).
We then moved along the corridor to the bedrooms of this two children, Kingsley and Mary, which have since been combined to make a larger room. It was standing in here, our last stop, that our guide explained about 'Stepping Stones', the school that took on the building. Undershaw became a hotel and restaurant in 1924, but ceased trading in 2004 and was subsequently sold to a developer who was granted planning permission to extend and convert the house into five dwellings, vertically splitting the original building into two houses. However, in September 2016, Undershaw opened as the new Upper School of Stepping Stones School. Founded in 2004 by parents Larry Sullivan and Sandy Seagrove, who despaired of finding the right school for their daughter, Stepping Stones prides itself on its reputation as an alternative special needs school, catering to those who fall between mainstream and special needs provision. Today the school caters for 60 young people and in the words of its website:
'The school makes provision for children who have acquired processing delays due to: acute or chronic medical conditions, hemiplegia or mild cerebral palsy; those whose mental and/or emotional health is at risk due to direct or indirect trauma; and those whose mild autism creates learning needs'.
Making my way back downstairs, I popped outside to buy a cookie from 'The Cookie Bus', a converted 1963 Routemaster bus which visits festivals, fetes and other events, which is attached to the School's nearby social enterprise cafe, 'The Cookie Bar'. This provides an environment for pupils to experience all aspects of running a business and helps young people in their journeys to become social and economic contributors.
Returning to the main hall, I was just in time for a talk by local historian, Dr. Marion Dell, entitled 'We Could Not Have Hit Upon Anything More Perfect - ACD and his family and friends at Undershaw'. This started with the building of Undershaw, and then was a year-by-year description of visitors and events at Undershaw, brought to life with contemporary photographs and newspaper reports, as well as excerpts from ACD's letters to his mother. So impressed was I with the talk, that I immediately made my way to the cafe which was acting as a bookshop to buy a copy of Dr. Dell's 'The Rise and Fall of the English Switzerland', which she happily signed for me.
It was time for lunch, so I made my way out to the large lawn in front of the house, where I purchased a barbecued burger with cheese and a can of coke, sitting in the lovely son, taking in the health-giving local air. Returning into the house, I took the opportunity to take a few more photos, including getting one of the stewards to take a photo of me in the Study (albeit at a replacement desk and chair) for a donation to School funds.
It was then time for the final talk of the day, 'Sherlock Holmes in Film and Print' by Bonnie MacBride, Hollywood Screenwriter (she was the original screenwriter of 'Tron') and pastiche author. The presentation was excellent with my having to put my hand up when she asked for whom 'Basil the Great Mouse Detective' had been their 'gateway drug' into Holmes.
There was now a long gap in proceedings, which I spent wandering the grounds, passing Touie's garden hut, and taking some more photos of the outside of the house. The extension has divided Sherlockians, but I was pleased that it was obvious which bit was new, and which was original.
It was then time to visit the bookshop again, where MX Publishing were having a half-price sale. I ended up buying a book about Dr. Watson, a novel featuring the adventures of Mary Watson nee Morstan, and two picture books - 'Is That My Holmes ?' and 'Is That My Watson ?'
Having had another cookie, and chats with other Society members, it was finally time to make my way back into the main hall for the evening's entertainment, a production of the 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' spoof orginated by Peepolykus, only a few hundred yards from the room where the book was written. The production was from Torchlight Mysteries based in Portsmouth (another ACD locale), and was very good. However, it seemed from conversations overheard in the interval that some locals that had come for the play had not been aware that it was a spoof.
Play concluded, and having been given a flyer for their next production, featuring 'the woman' Irene Adler, I was making my way back up the drive to the bus stop where the minibus picked us up again, taking us back to Guildford Station, from where I caught a train home, tired after an excellent day.
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