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Lee Abbey Hotel Golf Course, Lynton. (1924 - WW2)
In 1924 two companies bought Lee Abbey and attempted to run it as a large hotel with accompanying golf course. Unfortunately, the hotel and its course was too remote, and, with the outbreak of WW2, both companies went bankrupt. The hotel was used as a school for evacuated boys until it became a Christian retreat after the war ended.
The nine-hole sporting course was laid out in the hotel grounds starting and finishing in front of the hotel.
The following article appeared in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on Friday 2 May 1924. “Golfers who reside in or visit North Devon will be extremely interested in the announcement that a nine-hole golf course, covering 68 acres, has been constructed in the grounds of the Lee Abbey Hotel, and is now open for play. This provision opens the way for a pleasant stay amid picturesque and beautiful surroundings. The course is primarily intended for visitors staying at the hotel, but arrangements have been made for the issuing of a limited number of membership cards available for a year to residents in the district at 35/- each without any entry fee. Visitors’ fees would also be available at; 2/6 a day, 12/6 a week, 21/- a fortnight and 30/- a month. Applications for membership should be made to Charles T W Finch, the manager of the Hotel.”
Two golfers on the ninth-green.
Postcard showing the golf course in the foreground.
View from the sixth tee.
Above advert from 1928,
In April 1929 a letter asking that the existing lease between the Golf Club and the Council be broken, as the ground landlords, The Lee Abbey Hotel Co., was prepared to extend the present lease to fourteen years, under certain conditions. It was explained that at present the club paid £10 per annum to the Council, who paid the sum to the Lee Abbey Hotel Co.; therefore the breaking of the lease would not affect the Council – the request was agreed to.
Advert from 1930.
Above is a picture from the 1936 hotel brochure showing the hotel and ninth green.
Postcard of Lee Abbey Hotel and Golf Course. Authors collection.
The course can be seen on the Britain From Above link below. It shows the 18th green on the left, the first tee in front, and the 6th tee to the right.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW033310