The Legend of the Hound
Please note: Lords Tearoom is currently closed for refurbishment, so the Legend of the Hound project will not be open to the public until the work is complete. Please check this page from time to time for updates and further details.
The Legend of the Hound project was set up in Princetown in 2005 as an acknowledgement of Dartmoor's association with one of the most popular fictional stories in English literature by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Inside "Lords Tearoom" is a life size model of The Hound of the Baskervilles, along with an information display and reconstruction of a Victorian sitting room similar to Sherlock Holmes' sitting room at 221B Baker Street. These combine with the horse and carriage to create a unique turn-of-the-century experience.
Victorian costume is available, including deer-stalkers and cloaks, to anyone wishing to enter into the spirit of the project. Trips on the carriage take passengers through Princetown, past the church with its large stained glass window which was donated by a group of Americans. In the other direction, the carriage takes the road to Postbridge and on to the prison viewing point where the grey, imposing buildings are to be seen at their most ominous.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote part of The Hound of the Baskervilles whilst staying in the Duchy Rowe Hotel, Princetown, now the Visitor Centre. He researched the area by horse and carriage driven by Harry Baskerville and local place and house names feature in the book.
