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Beechwood House... |
| A cottage style and ambience |
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Beechwood House, Dartmoor viewed from the front garden, 15th June 2006 |
Once two cottages and now one wonderful house, Beechwood keeps almost all of its original character and feel but with more up to date facilities such as hot and cold water and central heating.
Inside downstairs some walls have been cleaned to show the bare granite including the huge lintels over the fireplaces. In the higher and newer section of the house are rooms 1 and 2 and their bathroom and, downstairs, the kitchen and uitlity. In the middle are rooms 3 and 4 with their en suite facilities and recpetion and the dining room below. In the lower section, the guest lounge and our private lounge (yes, we have an inner sanctum to escape to!) are downstairs and room five and our bedroom are above. |
The two cotttages circa 1923
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A house with history
It's always nice to know something about an old house, and we are lucky to have very detailed record form Reg Bellamy's book on Postbridge
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"Accommodation extremely comfortable. Excellent Hosts - thank you. "
- H. Neilson, Australia
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Beechwood house - A short history
In 1871 a Thomas Rowse was granted a 60 year lease by The Duchy of Cornwall for the building of a house, which eventually became two houses, on waste ground in the Forest. The house had seven rooms and the lower cottage had four.
In 1881 Thomas and his wife Mary were living in the house but, by 1891, Mathew & Maria Rowse were in Beechwood whilst Mary was living in the cottage. By 1900 the lease had been assigned to Matthew and after his death to John Donovan Rowse who held it until it's expiry in 1931.
It was renewed for 31 years on 25th March 1931 and, in 1936 Mr. Rowse assigned it to William Henry Worth. Over the years and with various tenants the property became in meed of modernisation and repair and this was undertaken in 1955 by Mr. Springate who with his wife were tenants in the lower cottage by the road. Another renewal of the lease was granted in 1962 and in 1972 it was assigned to Mr. and Mrs. Maye who converted the two houses into one. It was they who discovered 3 open hearths, which were returned to their original state. More recent owners had modernised and improved the property and our predecessors brought it to the high standards of decoration it is now.
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