Do you love fishing hotels? I do, even if I mostly get the fly tangled in my hair, and my favourite part is at the end of the day when I return to what are invariably traditional, comfortable, familiar bolt-holes, steeped in history. Some of my favourites are the Arundell Arms in Devon, Gliffaes in Powys, Forss House in Caithness, The Peacock in Derbyshire, Collingwood Arms in Northumberland and Ednam House in Roxburghshire.
And now there is another fine address, perfect for relaxing (and world-class) fishing and relaxing after fishing: The Grosvenor in Stockbridge, where a total refurbishment during lockdown has brought new life to the home of fly fishing and restored the town’s most notable building.
In the heart of the Test Valley, Stockbridge is a handsome place. Its wide High Street was once a drover’s road where vast flocks of sheep were herded through the town en route from Wales. In the 19th century it was famous for its starry racecourse, the Ascot of its day, and landowner Robert Grosvenor, Marquess of Westminster, built the hotel for racegoers in 1825. The racecourse closed in 1898 and fishing became the town’s chief focus. The oldest fishing club in the country, famously private, the Houghton, owns the hotel and has its headquarters in the venerable first-floor Houghton Room.
Until now, The Grosvenor’s splendid pillared, semicircular porte-cochère heralded a swirly carpeted dump run by Greene King, which had a long lease from the Houghton Club. Today, the porte-cochère sports a temporary “beach” with two striped deckchairs planted in sand. It’s an amusing touch and it heralds a hotel that’s now as fun, thoughtful, traditional yet colourful as its new owner, local resident and devoted fisherman Simon Henderson, who with his wife Teresa and the older of his eight children, have poured their energy into their new venture. “The place needed rescuing,” he says.
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And rescue it he has, with the enormous help of Lottie Keith, a private house rather than hotel designer who, like Simon, has understood the need to retain the traditional and historic but at the same time attract the metropolitan. Her bedrooms and bathrooms are lovely, full of colour yet restful, with unusual fabrics, pretty ceramics, superb lighting and refreshingly un-hotelly details, like my handmade scalloped vanity unit in palest lilac and the panelling in the charming Garden Rooms that extends across their ceilings. The mingy toiletries are a let-down, but I’m told they will change. The first floor is yet to be refurbished, scheduled for the new year.
Back to the fishing. In a clever riff on the lingo of Covid, Simon has introduced a notably good value “Test and Taste” package that includes an afternoon on a beat of the hallowed river at Leckford, with or without tuition. In our case, we were accompanied by Leckford Estate’s head ghillie Rob Goldsworthy, whose gentle, encouraging expertise was as rewarding as it was finally to catch the trout we stalked for so long in the gin-clear water. Oh the peace, punctuated only by the blue flash of kingfishers as they streaked above the stream. Returning to The Grosvenor, the porte-cochère, where guests would dismount from their carriage while their luggage was handed by the coachman through a hatch into a room above, leads to a timeless and gracious hallway with wooden floors and Persian rugs, while the stunning courtyard garden, also by Lottie Keith, with pizza oven and outdoor dining, strikes a dazzling contemporary note.
On the demise of the racecourse in 1898, Tom Cannon, champion jockey, trainer and latterly clerk of the course, turned to hotel keeping and bought The Grosvenor. The cosy dining room is all about Cannon, its wood panelling etched using a technique called pyrography, with illustrations of his famous winners. It makes for a fine place to tuck into lobster and chips or a posh burger for dinner, served by cheery locals full of smiles, and overseen by John, who is very French but whose mother was “in love with JFK”.
Our food was delicious, though the menu could be less hearty, interspersed with some lighter dishes. There is also a bar and a second dining room in what was once a market hall, where a beautiful verre églomisé mirror graces one end of the room. Had I been staying more than a night, I would most certainly have yearned for a comfy sitting room in which to flop and read the papers… no stay in a fishing hotel feels complete without a plate of scones and good old doze by the fire, to my mind.
Doubles at The Grosvenor from £150, including breakfast; Test and Taste package from £360. Access possible for guests using wheelchairs.
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