The history of The Falcon House

The Falcon House is a Georgian farmhouse, built around 1760, the time of the coronation of George III, although parts of the building are probably older.

The Falcon House formed part of the How Caple Estate, one time home of Sir William Gregory, speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Charles 11. The Falcon Farm, as it was then, was sold in 1881 with 136 acres of land, now sadly long gone. At that time it was let to:

“Edward Paine at the inadequate rent of £131, the Tenant being an old and useful sub–agent of the estate”

“The society of the neighbourhood is of the very best order, some of the principal seats in the aristocratic county of Hereford being within easy reach”

Sentiments we could not have expressed better ourselves.

The Falcon Farm has been home to some of the longest established Herefordshire families – the Saxtys at the turn of the 19th century and the Powells in the 1920s, who can be seen in a period photograph outside The Falcon House celebrating a family wedding.

The house hasn’t changed much on the outside, although the road looks a little less busy! Our collection of aerial photographs date back to the 1960s and show how the farm buildings have been adapted and incorporated into the living accommodation over the years.

The original tarmac drive came straight through where the Breakfast Room now stands and the rather uninspiring barn has, fortunately, been replaced by our lovely Greenhouse!

Since our arrival here in 2005 we have;

  • Built the Breakfast room and commissioned the stained-glass window from a local artist, Nicky Hopwood. More of her work can be seen in the entrance lobby.
  • Added the lobby area and the two rooms, (bedrooms 5 and 6) above
  • Constructed the aviaries which house our (ever-expanding) collection of owls
  • Converted the old stable area into our state-of-the-art Biomass boiler house, together with a 7.2kw solar power generating system. More info on our Green Tourism page, or more pictures of the house on our House & Grounds Gallery page