The legend of Blackborough

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Nothing, all gone. Ralph sold it in 2015 and there was a big auction to sell all the scrap cars and parts in 2016.

 

The place is undergoing a massive renovation to become a hotel/spa.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywdvDoNsT48

[bigstraight6]

I was lucky too see that when I did, 10 years ago now!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I went in 1990. 

[panhard65]

There is another thread about blackborough somewhere. I went to the clearance auction a couple of years ago. The house was being sold and some company was buying it to do up as a venue for weddings etc. When i am back on a computer with the pics on I will post them

[N Dentressangle]

If you can bear half an hour of that utter cock Henry Cole, there is an episode of Shed and Buried where they visit Blackborough. I think they buy a knackered Triumph Tiger Cub.

 

I visited in 1992, I think, on the hunt for Saab 96V4 bits. It was tricky to find, I remember, in those pre-satnav days, with plenty of meandering around Cullompton before finding it. It was as bizarre a place as it looks in the pics.

[Amishtat]

It certainly was hard to find, I remember driving round the lanes for a good hour or so before stopping in a pub and asking for directions.

[anonymous user]

Went there many years ago when there was really old stuff buried in brambles, yes they definitely had some Austin Devons, pointing at particular bramble patch, it was inevitable that having Indiana Jonesd through the brambles, getting cut to bits, that the dashboards had already been stripped and broken.

I know the place was sold, but I'm not sure if the restoration has actually started.

[lesapandre]

Blackborough House is a Grade II listed country house on the edge of the Blackdown Hills in Devon and is an enigmatic and interesting building with an eccentric history.

Built in 1838 by the fourth and last Earl of Egremont, it was intended to be a grand Italianate palace but this plan was dashed by financial difficulties and the house was not completed. Instead, it was split into matching halves and the Earl occupied one half, while the local rector, a cousin, occupied the other. The architecture has naval references – the Earl was a naval man and the small square windows on the upper floors were supposed to resemble gunports on his ship, the Hawke.

In decline for several decades, Blackborough was described as semi-derelict at the time of its listing in 1985.

 

Blackborough House has enjoyed many different incarnations – as a school, a home for ‘wayfarers’, a base for a religious sect and an internment camp for conscientious objectors and of course scrapyard.

 

In 2015 a sale was agreed for the house and 10 acres to a developer, to be completed by the end of 2016. On 17 September 2016 an auction was held, in preparation for the house sale, of 1,000-plus lots of motor vehicle remains and spare parts that occupied the house and grounds.

 

In 2018 planning permission  was sought to develop the house and grounds into a 64 bedroom hotel and spa with four linked pavilions and seven detached villas in the grounds. The developers also plan to restore the seventy-foot towers which originally stood on the east and west sides and put a glass roof on the inner courtyard as well as adding a new low level extension. It will then be used as an events venue holding weddings, corporate events and exhibitions. Local residents have opposed the proposals on a number of grounds, in particular, ironically,  the extra traffic which would be generated both during the development and when in use as a hotel.

[panhard65]

One of my customers is an auctioneer / estate agent and he went to the auction. He was surprised at some of the prices the junk was making. There was very little left that wasn't scrap. The house had been sold but the old boy was still living there at the time. The general opinion is it is unlikley to ever get restored as the costs involved far outweigh any chance of it ever making any money as a venue. The driveway on it's own would take a few hundred grand just to be accessible by car rather than 4x4. The house is totally fucked and as it is listed needs to be restored rather than demolished and build something new. As a venue it has little going for it as it is the middle of nowhere with no nice veiws and single track roads to get to it. Finding Blackborough is really tricky as a lot of the sign posts are missing, I live less than 10 miles from it and had a hell of a job finding the place. I did put the photos on the other thread so will try and find a link to it.

 

Here is the thread http://autoshite.com/topic/10260-blackborough-house/?hl=blackborough

[lesapandre]

People do take on this kind of stuff - but at a price probably a lot less than it sold for with hope value of a lot of new houses in the grounds which may very well not get planning consent. So may well be in limbo for a few more years whilst it continues to decay. Some buildings do seem to get stuck with problem owners.

[panhard65]

Location is it's biggest problem. The roads are single track and it is in the Blackdown hills where it is very easy to get lost for a few hours and still only be a mile or so from where you started. When I moved down here seven years ago I stumbled upon a house with a fine collection of 70's Renault's outside but can I find the place again no chance. Even if the get the planning for extra houses in the grounds they will never make the money back, check out the pictures it is not the kind of place you would want as a wedding venue even if they did restore it to perfect. The main house is in a little hollow surrounded by woodland to one side and there is the flat area that used to be the yard which is in fact 1,000's of tonnes of dirt that has been dumped there over many years.

[Pieman]

This place used to be owned by National Hot Rod driver Ralph Sanders who still races occasionally today and who I have watched, and subsequently commentated on, at my local venues for years and years.  Apparently in that collection he had all the old hot rods he had raced over his long career.

 

Sounds like the site of this house would be good for a motorsport venue - after all, no one can complain about noise if the public doesn't have a clue where it is!

 

(edit) Just saw on another thread that someone got in and managed to "urbex" the place - they did very well to explore in there as allegedly any intruders would be shot on sight!

[Mrs6C]

Looks like its days as a resting place for interesting old cars are numbered...

http://www.blackborough.house/

 

Planning application here:

https://planning.middevon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=P04N4KKS05K00

 

Some photos from the planning application here:

https://planning.middevon.gov.uk/online-applications/files/904DF0CDA2E93BE511B0EE387AE725F2/pdf/17_01904_MFUL-Geo-environment_site_photographs-1372428.pdf

[lesapandre]

Hmmmm...hope they have a robust business plan and plenty of capital or credit - that is going to be expensive. I should think the wedding venue and hotel business in the area may be well catered for and access has been mentioned as poor. Getting permission for 'enabling development' of houses in the grounds may be problematical too. But good luck to them. Certainly no more cars being broken.

[lesapandre]

There was a similar operation at Hainford Hall in Norfolk and the famous Medlars yard in woods north of Norwich with cars dating from the thirties. Incredible place I visited in the 70's. Both closed now of course but only fairly recently.

[bigstraight6]

Interesting reading about the plans to redevelop this place, as mentioned it’s hard to find and access is poor via mainly single track lanes which would be a major headache for getting construction materials and machinery on site.

[anonymous user]

The listed status may not be a massive problem as by the time it was listed it was already in a pretty poor state with corrugated iron bits of roof and the interiors fairly wrecked. If there is a pragmatic conservation officer involved it should be possible to reduce costs and end up with a structure that looks right, get the wrong one who insists on everything like for like and the costs will go through the roof. Speaking of roof it will eat a few hundred thousand just to sort the roof and then the windows/doors probably a similar amount. Not sure how much ground is with it, but if they go the eco route for the new houses then planning is more likely. As has been said, very deep pockets required. I know of someone who was trying to do this on a smaller place in better condition, in Somerset, it literally bankrupted him, when the bank pulled the plug just as it was getting up and running.

[Dead_E23]

Are you a confident DIYer with £400k burning a hole in your pocket?  This place is for sale.

You can even explore inside with the virtual viewing function:  

https://www.struttandparker.com/properties/blackborough

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Holy moly what a project, I can't even begin to imagine taking that on. Still got an A35 festering away out back which is nice to see.

[Shite Ron]

That is fantastic and seems incredibly cheap, would cost many times the purchase price to renovate though.

If I won the lottery I would renovate it and refill most of the rooms with old cars and live in a few. It would be great as a car museum considering its past.

[Dead_E23]

You'd get treated like a VIP at Screwfix if you bought that. Do it! 

They might even include the 40 foot container as a deal sweetener. I think it sets the place off nicely.

[Out Run]

Straight outta Cullompton

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Free* Clio too. 

Great to see the Grade 2 listing has helped preserve the place.

Oh, wait...

[anonymous user]

I note the agent's blurb said Planning Consent had been sought for the venue/new builds didn't mention it being successful. I suppose you could do the historic conserved ruin route. Rebuild/repair enough to make a reasonable home and stabilize the rest. Would still cost you hundreds of thousands.

[Matty]

Tried to virtual tour. It was all sound till it reached the attic. Could've sworn something moved in the fireplace and the shock made me drop my phone in the bath.

Verdict not buying,  too spooky

[anonymous user]

Just checked, the 2018 Planning Application was refused in August this year, so looks like the current owner has had enough and is selling up.

I wonder if you would be able to just reopen it as a scrap yard as it was an established use.