Large Self-Catering Holiday Cottage

Situated in Herefordshire, near The Forest of Dean

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Accommodation facilities

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Now taking bookings for small groups of 6 or more until guidance changes. Call 07973 657062 to enquire.

Situated an area of outstanding natural beauty

Portland House is a spacious, grade II Georgian property positioned in a village setting within an area of outstanding natural beauty. On the cusp of three beautiful counties – Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire – and just opposite Symonds Yat at the edge of the Forest of Dean.

Rural views from most bedrooms. On local bus route into Ross on Wye and Monmouth. Famous local shop just across the road, Woods of Whitchurch, licensed, with delicatessen, bakery and cafe that serves great coffee.

The Local Area

Village setting in Whitchurch, Ross-On-Wye
Perfectly placed for local river pursuits
On Wye Valley walk
Near cycle routes
10 minutes drive from golf courses
Good choice of eateries/pubs – 4 in walking distance
Mini golf, Butterfly museum and Maze within the village

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• Adventure
• Dining
• Family
• Golf
• News
• Walking

Call 07973 657062 for help booking

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History of Portland House and its surrounds

There has been a dwelling on the site since the 17th Century. But we cannot find any records or diagrams of its size before the twentieth century. However, the size and use did change quite significantly over at least 3 centuries. The current façade and internal structure dates from the early 20th century when it was split from the adjoining properties into three dwellings. Before that, in the nineteenth century, it was part of a much larger dwelling which served the community as an asylum with Dr’s accommodation and a padded cell, and then a young gentleman’s academy (school). On the first landing, behind where the lovely big mirror is now, was the rest of a corridor leading to rooms (now belonging to the next-door property) used in those eras.

Standing outside in the forecourt looking up at the top floor front façade and roof, the size and shape of the house during the eighteenth century the double frontage of a Georgian house as it was then can be seen. At the back of the house inside on the ground floor, the Lloyd Dayroom and the Comfort room are part of the original 17th-century house. The room now called the lounge was part of a Victorian addition. In what is now the kitchen was a doorway, entrance hall and staircase.

So, at the beginning of the 20th-century, the house itself was subdivided, with domestic accommodation entering from a door from the lane. The ground floor front rooms were a Dr’s surgery (a different type of Dr altogether to the one in the 19th Century!) and the Boot Room as his dispensary. Out of the blue a guest, who stayed at Portland House in 2010, told us that as a young girl she had lived, with her parents and sister, on the 1st and 2nd floors.

By the 1980s however, Portland House was firmly in the hospitality sector as a private hotel, then guesthouse and now holiday cottage.

Further reading

• Whitchurch in the Ross Gazette
• King Arthur’s Cave
• St Dubricuis Church
• Local Genealogy