Fowlescombe Farm in south Devon to open full-service retreat this spring

Fowlescombe Farm in Dartmoor has revealed plans to offer accommodation for the first time through the development of eight luxury suites, which are due to open this spring.

The regenerative farm and estate is home to a ruined manor house dating back to 1537, which is believed to be the inspiration for Baskerville Hall in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Fowlescombe Farm was taken over by the Owens family in 2019 and is also part of B-Corp supplier and e-commerce platform the Ethical Butcher, raising English Longhorn and Beef Shorthorn cattle, Manx Loaghtan and Hampshire Down sheep and Tamworth pigs.

Andrew Owens is chairman at the Ethical Butcher and also owns organic charcuterie business Rare & Pasture, which is smoked and cured on Fowlescombe Farm.

Caitlin Owens, a former management consultant at Deloitte Digital, has been spearheading the project to transform Fowlescombe Farm into a full-scale retreat.

She has previously worked at the Four Seasons in London and Relais & Châteaux’s Hotel Schönegg in Zermatt, and was also the manager of the Millbrook Inn pub with cottages in South Pool, Kingsbridge, which is also owned by her family.

The new hospitality offering will be designed by Owens’ partner, creative director Paul Glade, and Harry Gugger of Studio Gugger in Basel, Switzerland.

The eight suites are based out of the old farmstead buildings and feature stone from the farm’s own quarries, as well as mattresses made with wool from the farm’s own sheep.

Fowlescombe Farm will also offer a communal kitchen and farm-to-table dining area known as the Refectory, where guests can watch chefs at work. All of the meat served will be sourced from the farm.

Meanwhile, Fowlescombe’s activity programme will include the likes of breadmaking, foraging, floristry, fishing and biking.