The sprawling Dartmoor estate that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Hound of the Baskervilles has gone up for sale for £4.5million.
The 782-acre Leighon Estate, in Dartmoor Valley, Manaton, Newton Abbot, comes complete with an enormous 5160sqft main home, staff quarters, outhouses and miles of woodland.
Meanwhile the Hound Tor, a heavily weathered granite outcrop, is on the western edge of the estate, with legend telling it is where a pack of supernatural hounds were turned to stone by a witch’s curse.
The tale is said to have been the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock tale, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, which sees Detective Holmes and Dr Watson visit Dartmoor to solve the murder of Sir Baskerville.
The Leighon Estate, which takes up 782-acres of the Dartmoor Valley in Manaton, Newton Abbot, comes complete with a 5160sqft main home, staff quarters, miles of woodland, and outhouses (pictured)
The sprawling Dartmoor estate is said to have inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Hound of the Baskervilles and has gone up for sale for £4.5million (pictured, the wooden panelled hallway)
The estate is the perfect home for history buffs as well as nature lovers, because it’s accessed from a country lane, and has the stunning Becka Brook meandering through the grounds.
Visitors to the property will also be able to enjoy lakes, moorland, ornamental ponds and manicured garden, complete with large banks of world-class rhododendrons making it perfect for Covid-safe walks and horse rides.
On top of staff quarters, there’s also an various outbuildings with potential for redevelopment.
Estate agents Knight Frank, who are selling the property, say that the property is perfect for a family shoot if desired.
Pictured is the bright living room of the home, with a huge fireplace, stunning views over the grounds, and original wood panel detailing
Pictured: The large dining room of the home, which currently offers seating for eight to dine, and leads directly to the open plan kitchen and breakfast room
The sprawling property features nine-stunning bedrooms, with large windows flooding light into each (pictured, one of the bedrooms)
There’s also ‘excellent grazing across the whole farm’ they say, which is made up of 37 acres of pasture and 413 acres of moorland.
The grounds also has approximately 118 acres of woodland much of which is also grazed, and 194.9 acres of a quarter owned grazing moorland over Hound Tor, meaning there are phenomenal views from the heritage sits.
The main house – a period manor home – comes complete with nine bedrooms, and also has a panoramic view of Dartmoor and the manicured gardens.
A large family dwelling, the white painted house is surrounded by traditional stone-built farm buildings, a cobbled courtyard and pretty period lodge.
The home is pictured from outside. It is said to have been the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock tale, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, which see Detective Holmes and Watson visit Dartmoor to solve the murder of Sir Baskerville
As well as the stunning main house, the estate in Newton Abbey also includes outhouses, staff quarters and acres of grounds and woodland (pictured, from above)
What is the Hound Tor?
The remains of this abandoned and isolated settlement lie on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, between the granite landmarks of Hound Tor and Greator Rocks.
The village, which was excavated in the 1960s, consists of a cluster of rectangular longhouses and barns which were shown to date from the 13th century, though the area may have been used for summer grazing during the Roman period.
There is evidence that the area was farmed during the Bronze Age, and it may have been first farmed even earlier.
The remains of this abandoned and isolated settlement lie on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, between the granite landmarks of Hound Tor and Greator Rocks. The Hound Tor is pictured
This legend inspired The Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Sherlock Holmes investigates reports of a red-eyed hell hound stalking the foggy moors. Arhtur Conan Doyle is pictured
During the Middle Ages a combination of population growth and favourable weather seems to have encouraged people to move higher up on to the moor, taking in marginal land that was normally too difficult to cultivate. Animals were an important element in this kind of husbandry – oxen to pull the ploughs, cattle for meat and milk, and sheep for meat and woollen clothing.
Medieval farmers liked to bring their beasts indoors, creating the typical Dartmoor longhouse – a rectangular building in which the family lived at one end and the animals at the other. There were at least four of these in the hamlet at Hound Tor.
The life of the permanent settlement may have been short. Pollen evidence suggests that cereal farming had ceased by 1350, but a recent re-examination of the pottery suggests occupation to the end of the 14th or early 15th century.
The rocks themselves, which are popular with rock climbers, are said to have been created from dogs after a witch put a curse on them.
Tale says that a group of hunting dogs were turned to stone after disrupting a witch’s ceremony.
Given the size of the stones, the dogs would have had to have been giants, or at least large in number to make up the rocks that exist today. However since magic does not exist, it is unlikely that they were ever dogs.
This legend inspired The Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Sherlock Holmes investigates reports of a red-eyed hell hound stalking the foggy moors.
A 2012 episode of hit BBC series Sherlock, based on the book, was filmed at the Hound Tor.
Inside is a grand entrance and off from the hall is the well-proportioned sitting room with larger drawing room beyond and dining room across the hall linking through to the open plan kitchen and breakfast room along with a large larder.
There is also a utility room, downstairs toilet and cloak area, as well as a back hall with another staircase and study.
In the main hall, stairs lead up to a spacious first floor landing with even more bedrooms.
The master bedroom has lovely views over the gardens and a large ensuite bathroom. Elsewhere, there are eight further bedrooms and three bathrooms.
While some of the property’s decorations are a little out-dated, the stunning period features and enormous windows would make it a perfect family home (Pictured is the main bedroom)
One of the home’s nine bedrooms in the main house. The master bedroom has lovely views over the gardens and a large ensuite bathroom
But the beautiful lodge isn’t the only property on the home. To the side of the house are an extensive range of traditional stone built farm buildings which have huge potential for a wide range of uses
A magnificent set of double doors greets those visiting the front of the property (pictured the white painted home on the estate)
The estate is part of the Conservation Area on the eastern edge of Dartmoor National Park, which is steeped in history.
Whilst one of the main features of Leighon House are the breathtaking views over Dartmoor, there are beautiful formal gardens around the house with well stocked herbaceous borders, immaculate lawns, beautiful mature trees and large rhododendrons in addition to the woodland rhododendron gardens that line the drive.
Behind the house is a sheltered walled garden with lovely borders and a productive vegetable garden.
But the beautiful lodge isn’t the only property on the home.
To the side of the house are an extensive range of traditional stone built farm buildings which have huge potential for a wide range of uses.
The estate is the perfect home for nature lovers as well as history buffs, because it’s accessed from a country lane, and has the stunning Becka Brook meandering through the grounds
Of particular note is the beautiful cobbled courtyard with access to former tack rooms and a staff annexe which could easily be reconfigured as guest or staff accommodation.
The courtyard also provides access to a beautiful stone barn with four fine traditional loose boxes along with loft space above.
The adjacent barn has a wonderful full length open plan room open to the eaves with a beautiful wooden floor, and there’s also a former cart shed and a double garage.
The house is on more than 700 acres of lands, which includes manicured gardens and woodlands (pictured, a view of the main property from above)
Meanwhile the incredibly £4.5 million price also includes the pretty, two-bedroom Lodge Cottage, which could be used for guests or staff (pictured, one of the properties)
The pretty period Lodge is situated off the private drive in a delightful secluded position. It is currently let on an assured short hold tenancy to a tenant who also helps on the estate.
The Lodge has a sitting room, kitchen, utility, toilet and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor along with a private garden to the rear.
Records show people living at Leighon, and the now ruins of Greator Farm, from as early as the 1200s.
The Nosworthy family are believed to have lived at Leighon from the 1500s until the late 1800s when The Rev R.R. Wolfe bought the estate. It was he that transformed the previous Devon long house in to the house seen today.
He sold the estate to the Singer family of sewing machine fame in 1902 and despite the family briefly selling the estate, they reacquired it in 1952. The current owners bought the farm in 1977.
Whilst one of the main features of Leighon House are the breathtaking views over Dartmoor, there are beautiful formal gardens around the house with well stocked herbaceous borders, immaculate lawns and mature trees
Pictured: A birds-eye view of the grounds of The Leighon Estate, which takes up 782-acres of the Dartmoor Valley in Manaton, Newton Abbot
The 782 acres of grounds, which is said to have inspired Conan Doyle to pen the Hound of the Bakervilles, also have lakes on them, pictured