Inside the beautiful Leathes Head Hotel near Derwentwater

Edith Hellon must have been a much-loved daughter. Not for her a new puppy or a bike. When her father wanted to make a special gift, he gave her a house. And not just any house.

Midway into the Borrowdale valley, with spectacular views of the majestic surrounding fells and Derwentwater, Leathes Head was financed by Workington-born Liverpool ship owner Daniel Hellon.

The view from the hotel (Image: Hackney and Leigh)

Formal gardens, acres of land and woodland completed the package as Edith and her cousin, Sarah Bromley, moved in. They would live there for the next 30 years until Edith became ill in 1938. She died in Wallasey, Merseyside, 1940, aged 67.

Daniel had grown up in Workington, where his father was a parish clerk and schoolmaster, but at some point had sought his fortune in the port city.

The Edwardian entrance hall (Image: Hackney and Leigh)
Edith was born in Everton, Liverpool, but by the time she was eight, the 1881 census reveals she was living with her widowed aunt Catherine (her father’s eldest sister) and three cousins at Applethwaite Gill, near Keswick. Catherine was living on a sea captain’s pension and interestingly all her children were born in Liverpool, suggesting the family were based, somewhat en masse, in the city at one point.

It may have been considered that the fresh Lakeland air was healthier for a girl than the industrialised city, and Edith’s move north was made permanent when Daniel’s wealth funded the building of Leathes Head in 1909.

The lounge at the front of the house (Image: Hackney and Leigh)

Edith’s uncle, John Bromley, who was married to Mary Ellen, one of her father’s older sisters and also from a Cumbrian family, secured planning permission and managed the construction of Leathes Head. It included a grand reception hallway with a magnificent, tiled floor, oak staircase and period cornice. Edith and her cousin apparently lived well, employing a cook and servants.

Two years before Edith died she granted the adjacent land to the National Trust. On her death, from pulmonary oedema and bronchitis, she left substantial donations to many charities and various sea-related institutions.

“The house is laid out pretty much as it was built in 1909,” says current owner Ian Burke, who bought it with his wife Jane 13 years ago. “However, we have always been puzzled by the name, Leathes Head, and assume it was named after Leathes Water, one of two ‘lakes’ submerged when Thirlmere was created around 1894.”

The modern dining room (Image: Hackney and Leigh)

Less than five miles from Keswick and within walking distance of Grange, Leathes Head became a hotel in the 1960s. In the 1970s a major extension was added at the back to increase the number of bedrooms. It has continued as a successful hotel since then and is now on the market valued at more than £2.5 million. It was included in the 2021 Michelin Guide and is a previous winner of Cumbria Tourism’s Small Hotel of the Year.

A review in the Daily Telegraph in 2020 describes it as: “Solid and unshowy, it’s a gentle mix of Edwardian elegance and a subtle contemporary style… Throughout, the atmosphere is welcoming and quietly gracious, without fuss and frills.”

The Burkes worked with an enthusiastic guest to research the history of the house and the Hellons and have ensured the original features have been preserved. Aside from a small extension to the modern, bistro-style dining room at the front, the ground floor footprint of the original house remains with a lounge with a wood-burning stove, a second dining room, bar and kitchen. The original ‘knives and boots room’ used to be located where the hotel office is now.

A bedroom at The Leathes Head (Image: Hackney and Leigh)

Upstairs, five en suite bedrooms occupy the same layout as the original rooms. The rear extension incorporates more en suite bedrooms as well as living accommodation for several staff on both the ground and first floors. The public rooms, many bedrooms and the gardens offer magnificent views of the fells.

“Iconic properties of this type and appeal rarely come on to the market,” says Nick Elgey, property sales and marketing consultant for Hackney and Leigh, who is managing the sale.

Planning consent is in place to allow subdivision of the main front part of the building to form a five-bedroom house, subject to change of use, together with three rear adjoining self-contained holiday letting properties which collectively provide a total of nine bedrooms.

There are more than 2.5 acres of gardens (Image: Hackney and Leigh)

“The beautifully landscaped grounds, setting and views are breath-taking,” adds Nick. “Prospective buyers have the option of either continuing the existing use of the property as a prestigious country house hotel or implementing the current planning consent to create a fine principal home and earn rental income from developing the additional accommodation for holiday letting in an area where rental demand is typically sustained all year round.”

Outside, 2.7 acres of Edith’s original property remain as mature gardens and woodland, which are a haven for wildlife, including tawny owls, woodpeckers and red squirrels. A track runs through the back of the hotel providing a public footpath onto the fells. The Burkes acquired The Leathes Head with honourable purpose having had a plan for it to be a social enterprise and to invest in training young people in the hospitality sector. Now in their late 60s, they are looking to semi-retirement. Ian says: “We have done everything we wanted to do, renovating every part of the house over the years. Now it needs new energy and some fresh ideas. “We are open all year and have a settled team of staff so we feel it still has huge potential.”

hackney-leigh.co.uk

View from the garden (Image: Hackney and Leigh)