The Official Soundcloud Page for the Stone House Hotel- an Edwardian country house hotel set in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales

The Stone House Hotel is a classic country house built in 1908 on the sunny side of the valley, near to the charming market town of Hawes in magnificent Wensleydale, in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Stone House provides the perfect setting for revitalising short breaks , weekend breaks, activity breaks , walking holidays or simply relaxation in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The building has a fascinating history. It was built by Hugh Crallan who was born on 11 April 1867, the youngest of a family of two sisters and two brothers. His solicitor father died at the early age of 48 when Hugh was only eleven. He was educated at Sutton Valence School, took a pass degree at Cambridge and became a school master. He had never been particularly well-off until he inherited a considerable fortune in 1906 from his cousin, Hugh Parnell, solicitor, and proceeded at once to build his "dream house" on the "dream site" where it now stands. 

Hugh chose as his architect the well-known London practitioner, P Morley Horder who had made a name for himself designing country houses in what he considered to be local tradition, with the use of local materials. 

Though Hugh had married Edith Whittaker in 1901, they had no children and his principal interests became cricket (always a passion), horse racing, and living the life of a country gentleman. His greatest success in racing was winning the Chester Gold Cup with "The Guller", trainer John Osborne, jockey unknown to me, nor am I aware of the year but it must have been the early twenties. 

During the 1914-1918 War, Hugh opened a shop in Hawes to "beat the profiteers" but as far as I know this philanthropic venture was of short duration! 

Thanks to Hugh Parnell Crallan, Hugh Arden Crallan's nephew and godson for the above information...


THE P.G. WODEHOUSE CONNECTION

Hugh Arden Crallan was so keen a cricketer that he founded Hawes Cricket Club. Despite his life of luxury in his country retreat, he vowed never to forget his colleagues back in the "City". Quite frequently he would invite them up for a weekend of garden parties, croquet and elaborate dinners laid on by his personal staff. 

On one such weekend it was decided that a local cricket match would provide part of the day's entertainent. So, complete with picnic hampers - and perhaps a bottle or two of champagne - Mr Crallan led his band of friends to the cricket field (the only one in the country to be surrounded by water on three sides). Amongst the party, now assembled outside the pavilion, was one of Hugh's most loyal colleagues, a young author struggling to keep his head above the inky waters of London's competitive literary world. 

A Mr P G Wodehouse, with a new novel near completion, was still searching for a good name to give his principal character. Shortly after lunch, with Hawes chasing a few hundred runs, into bat marched the Stone House gardener - Percy Jeeves. Problem solved! Jeeves, of course, was to become Bertie Wooster's butler. 

No century was scored that day, but a famous character had been christened and would prove to bring a huge amount of enjoyment to millions of people the world over. It was certainly a most enjoyable weekend for Wodehouse! 
General information
At Stone House Hotel, the emphasis is on relaxation, comfort and traditional standards of hospitality. The hotel has being owned and run by the same family since it was bought (as a private house) by Jane & Peter Taplin in 1980. Since the early nineties, the running of the hotel has being taken over by Jane & Peter's son Chris, and his brother-in-law Peter Westwood. Peter's son Josh also works in the business full time.

With this family ethos running very strongly through the Stone House team (and amongst many regular guests), we like to make an extra effort to ensure that our guests are given the very best service and attention. We have never catered for weddings or large events, which keeps the hotel more cosy and home-like. Perfect for coming back to after a long day walking the Dales fells!

We hope to see you soon!