A Devon manor house built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel is set to open as a hotel and fine dining restaurant after being bought by developers and undergoing an expensive renovation.
New owners Paul Stone and Paul Yarnley, and their families, have invested a “substantial amount” into a complete revamp of the Welbeck Manor pile, at Sparkwell on the edge of Plymouth.
Their newly-formed Welbeck Manor and Golf Ltd company bought the 19th Century edifice and its grounds in April, from a guide price of £1.5m, and has been busy transforming and modernising the 13-bedroom hotel, dining, wedding and golf business, creating about 20 jobs with more potentially to follow.
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It is expected that a bar and 52-cover restaurant will open soon, and the owners have partnered with the team at the nearby Treby Arms, famous for its high-quality dining, to oversee the food offer.
The Treby Arms’ head chef and his entire team will take over the Welbeck Manor restaurant and wedding catering, with the pub’s owners employing new staff in its kitchens.
The aim is to quickly win plaudits, and AA rosettes, for the food at Welbeck House, and establish the hotel as a prime destination for visitors, weddings and golfers who want to use its nine-hole course.
“We will open as a boutique hotel immediately,” said Mr Stone. “The bar will be ready by the end of this week, the restaurant and reception will be ready. We will have the bar open on Monday (July 12), and the restaurant by July 19.”
Work is also ongoing to build a large outdoor decking area, which will be able to seat another 52 people, with Mr Stone saying a “fortune” has been spent on furniture for it.
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The business has also spent £100,000 on machinery for the golf course and is mulling plans to convert a barn into two lodges or a four-bedroom building containing a golf bar. And Mr Stone added: “We want to expand further, there is planning permission to extend the hotel.”
Welbeck Manor Hotel and Sparkwell Golf Course, on the edge of Plymouth, went on the market as a going concern at the end of 2020 having been owned by the same family for about 30 years.
The business and property, which had a guide price of £1.5million and came with planning permission for additional accommodation, sits in about 55 acres of parkland, now used as a nine-hole golf course, on the fringe of Dartmoor.
Bridge-builder extraordinaire Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed the Royal Albert rail bridge across the nearby Tamar, built the manor in 1847. Its golf course was created in 1993.
Mr Stone and Mr Yarnley worked together successfully on creating six apartments at Sandon Court, in Plymouth’s Millfields gated community.
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“We had bought some land to develop at the rear of Welbeck Manor,” said Mr Stone. “We then fourn the manor was coming up for sale and decided to go for it. It’s a beautiful location,” he added. “The views are outstanding and gorgeous and the building has all the original features.”
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He said the new plans for the business have been well received and added: “The response from the public has been amazing, the number of people who have said it is great to see something happening with the place.
“Membership has already increased for the golf club, and we have four weddings provisionally reserved already, and room bookings without even putting them online.”
Matt Littlechild, who bought the Treby Arms in Sparkwell village in July 2019, said the aim is to build a solid reputation for food at the hotel while also maintaining the pub’s standing.
“The hotel restaurant will be open to non-residents,” he said. “We are looking at doing lots of things, breakfasts to late night bar snacks, afternoon teas, lighter lunches.”