Wikipedia

With the help of several kind and enthusiastic gentlemen, Undershaw has now made the Wikipedia at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undershaw. My gratitude and thanks go out to Paul Spiring who along with Alistair Duncan have been complete rocks to the Trust and have contributed so much to the campaign.

I am proud to say that I will be meeting with Alistair in several weeks and honoured to say that the purpose of this meeting is tied in with his new book on Doyle's time at Undershaw. A 'must' for anyone interested in this famous building, Hindhead's landmark and the history behind the man who created Sherlock Holmes.

A TV documentary has also been discussed and an offer of help with this could be in the offering. I would like to see the theme of this documetary focus on Doyle's 10 years at Undershaw, his presence in and around Hindhead, and those he associated with, such as the likes of Flora Thompson (Larkrise to Candleford), Bram Stoker (author of Dracula), Professor John Tyndall (his neighbour) J M Barrie (author of Peter Pan) and Undershaw's demise since 2004 with the grand finale of our efforts to save the property and whatever the outcome is likely to be.

The House Next Door

I reported back in December 2009 about the new houses being built next to Undershaw, on the plot of land where Professor John Tyndall once lived. The 6-bedroomed houses are complete and they have been named quite appropriately 'Holmes Place'. I wonder whether Kirkby, the builders responsible for these extremely lovely yet expensive homes would be interested in Undershaw? I cannot help feeling that Fossway will sell Undershaw on - next door could be a likely candidate.

Don't allow Undershaw to be modernised in this way. Albeit the facade will remain but internally it will be divided into 3 separate units and modernised beyond recognition.

The Sad Truth

These pictures were taken today whilst being interviewed by a correspondent from the Los Angeles Times. Both John and I felt ashamed that our British heritage has been treated in this way and for the American journalist to see how our grade II properties are treated by our authorities. It has been said before that if it were any other country this house would be protected and preserved.

I was amazed to see that a window that I noticed open 18 months ago was still open to the elements, graffiti on the wall, the boarding on the heraldic window pulled away and the glass smashed, rain pouring from the guttering and piles of rubble.

The pile of rubble indicates that the owners have already commenced work on the building, even though Waverley approved the proposal with conditions. Surely these conditions should be met before work is carried out? On Waverley Borough Council website their planning application is still 'pending decision'. Can the owner do this?

Waverley Borough Council assured us that the owners had complied with the 'Urgent Repairs Notice' and that security had been installed on the site. Shameful!

The Times Newspaper

The letter that was sent to the Times newspaper by two very concerned authors had 53 high profiled signatories calling for Jeremy Hunt to find a sensitive solution to the preservation of Undershaw. The full list of signatories can be viewed on our website www.saveundershaw.com under the section 'Aftermath'. To our surprise the Times also included a fantastic article on page 10. Thank you to Jeremy Vine for featuring such an intense article on Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and our efforts to save Undershaw.

Can you believe that the first showing of the new BBC 'Sherlock' was viewed by 7.7 million viewers. Who said Undershaw would not be a popular Tourist Attraction!

British Airways Support Us

I have today received an e-mail from a Senior Flight Officer with BA pledging his and his colleagues support with our efforts. I wish to take this opportunity of thanking him for taking time out from flying around the world to send this most welcomed e-mail.

Perhaps BA could be starting something that other high profiled companies may wish to be involved in - Saving Britain's Heritage.

Thank you Senior Flight Officer and colleagues.