Sherlock Holmes Retirement Cottage

HOLMES RETIRED TO THE DOWNS
According to the preface to His Last Bow, Holmes retired to “a small farm upon the Downs, five miles from Eastbourne”.

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE KNEW THE AREA
The celebrated author was born nearby, in Crowborough, East Sussex, and is believed to have visited East Dean in later years.

HOLMES NEEDED A SHELTERED SPOT TO KEEP BEES
Bees like shelter, which rules out a number of potential retirement spots. The village of East Dean, sheltered from the coastal gales, is still a contender.


Sherlock Holmes Society of London reckoned that a house on the village Green opposite the old Farm (New House Farm) was a plausible location for Holmes’ retirement.
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