General Discussion
Anyone know what it is used for these days? I know it used to be a boys' boarding school - Dawlish College I believe it was called - and I think Forestry Commission offices are now sited there but does it have any other functions?
Who owns it?
I dont know who owns it, but some years back it was privately bought, part of it as you say forestry commision offices also some other small businesses are there
The main house was previousley the head office for the company ROK. The forestry commision and several other small businesses have offices in and around the gate house complex. The big house was sold 6 or 7 years ago to I believe private buyers. You could find out the present owners from either the land registry or maybe the electoral role
There is more about it's history as a boarding school for boys on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamhead
Also I note it is up for sale at £8million http://search.struttandparker.com/residential/property/6926?from=home
The ceilings are stunning aren't they?
I spent 3 years there 1966-69 and I don't remember the ceilings at all, probably just keeping my head down.
If your interested then these photo's may prove interesting.
http://www.panoramio.com/user/1523345/tags/Dawlish%20College
Some cracking photos there plasticpeter!!! I saw the £8m pricetag in the paper and wondered who the owner was. Vodafone eh? I've spent many an unhappy hour at their HQ in Newbury. :-(
Given that Vodafone owes the taxpayer billions in unpaid tax (thanks Lynne for reminding us), perhaps Mamhead House should be confiscated and taken into public ownership as part payment of the tax bill. However, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's got round it in some way, like having it registered in his wife's name or to some off-shore company; doing a Philip Green in other words.
Firstly before deciding to confiscate someone's private home (and yes that is what it is at the moment) perhaps you should check out your facts about whether it is actually owned by the boss of Vodafone.
http://www.vodafone.com/content/annualreport/annual_report11/governance/index.html
That's the current board of directors and I can tell you that NONE of them own Mamhead House.
Secondly, the current owners (and no I don't have any connection with them apart from having met them a few times) have totally refurbished and restored the interior of the house which was in a pretty bad way in places. So they have in effect saved a local historical building from falling apart and they have used plenty of local businesses to do work for them, which puts money into the local economy and I know of one business (and I'm not naming names because it is not my place to do so) that was very grateful for the money they spent at a difficult trading time because it got them through it and meant they could stay in business.
OK, they can obviously afford to do it, but so what - it is their money that they have worked hard.
If you knew anything about them, which clearly none of you do, then you might not be so quick to cast that first stone.
And yes, the interiors are beautiful and the ceilings are wonderful.
No high horse plasticpeter, perfectly calm, perfectly happy and content - just wanting to correct an untruth that had been posted and then jumped on by various members because it gave them the chance to have a moan about Vodafone.
Along with a lot of people I don't agree with Vodafone's tax arrangements, but that had nothing to do with two perfectly nice members of our local community who were having their names blackened by people who can't be bothered to check their facts out first.
So by all means start a thread and moan about Vodafone and the deal done on their tax arrangements, just don't use it to have a go at innocent people who have no involvement with the company. After all if you were the one being accused in this way, wouldn't you want someone who knew you to defend you against unfair and incorrect accusations?
I think only one person, Cassandra, had a pop at the present home owners. Hardly "various members" or "people", is it? Still you've put her right and so that's that. It does make you wonder where unfounded rumours like these start doesn't it?
I know not who the present owners are, and if they have nothing to do with Vodafone then I sincerely apologise for blackening their name(s) in such an awful manner. I only meant to pass comment on the iniquitous tax arrangements that have been cooked up with HMRC. Does this mean that we cannot trust information that is posted on this website?
Interesting thread and excellent photographs.
Believe me, you can trust completely every scrap of information posted on this website. It has a Triple A rating.
Is this what you apparently had in mind Cass?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/14/goldman-sachs-director-quits-morally-bankrupt
Haven't quite got to grips with all this banking terminology but it seems that the investments in the housing market rated by Goldman Sachs as Triple A turned out to be what brought the whole edifice of the banking system crashing down with the results that we now see all around us. Seems that the director who quit is only telling us what we had already worked out for ourselves!
I know I'm new here, and so therefore I don't want to act as a forum policeman, but this thread is surely about Mamhead House and not about skullduggery in the international financial sector.
This thread encouraged me to go for a wander around that neck of the woods on Sunday. What a pretty area it is with some cracking views, esp from the Old Telephone Exchange! I didn't get to see the £8m pile itself, but it was well worth the effort of walking up there. Does anyone know if there's a public footpath that goes tbrough the estate, one that might afford a view of Mamhead House?
Lovely up there isn't it and with lovely views I agree.
For the first few years that I lived here I used to wonder to myself what on earth it was that people meant when they talked of the Mamhead Obelisk.
Then, one day, by chance we decided to take the dog for a walk up Haldon Hill way and idly following the paths we came across ..........Mamhead Obelisk and that super view.
I've always thought that whole area is kept very quiet in terms of publicity. Certainly never knew about it when we used to holiday here and, as I say, we certainly didn't come across it until a few years after we lived here.
Took my sister there last year. She's been holidaying down here for years yet she knew nothing about it.
Perhaps that's part of its charm - it's not touristy. On the other hand I've often thought what a brilliant place it would be for an outward bound school/adventure holiday company to be located.
And the house is up for sale...........
If you click the Strutt & Parker estate agent link in post #4 it now comes up as "The property you requested is no longer available. This may be because it has been sold or withdrawn from the market"
I was talking with a friend who I met there in the mid 60's about it. He remarked on how cheap it was, terraced houses in Notting Hill go for that amount and they're just 'terraced houses'.
