Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent house visitor at Baskerville Hall, as a house
guest of Sir Thomas Baskerville and his second wife, Elizabeth. He was so inspired by the
Hall, the family and their famous pack of hunting hounds that he asked permission to use
them as the basis for a novel. Sir Thomas Baskerville gave his permission on the proviso
that the true location of the Hall was never disclosed. Hence the famous novel "The
Hound of the Baskervilles" was based around Grimpen Mire.
But what of the 'Hound'? Well the Vaughan family lived nearby and their family history
holds tales of a seriously vicious black dog that haunted the family. The Baskervilles
were predisposed to marrying Vaughans and it is possible that the horror stories of the
Vaughan black dog transferred itself to the Baskervilles. There is however, among other
stories of aggressive dogs, a tale relating to the Baskervilles. It goes thus ; an
ancestor of the Baskervilles kept a large hound as a watchdog on the lookout for wolves.
One night the dog awoke the master who could not see a wolf and in his rage drove his
lance through the dog's skull, thus killing him. It transpired that the dog was correct
and there was indeed a wolf in the vicinity. The Baskerville was filled with remorse and
was haunted by the spectre of the dog that he had slain. Whatever the truth, if you look
at the coat of arms emblazoned about the Hall you will see at the top the figure of an
animal's head with a broken lance through it's skull. Whether this head is that of the
terribly wronged wolf-hound or that of the wolf is open to speculation.
In the woods, behind the Hall you can still find most of the graves of the famous hunting
hounds.
Today the Hall is a hotel and conference centre.
