“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” These words of Sherlock Holmes hold particular meaning for the staff and students at Undershaw School in Hindhead, Surrey.
Once the home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the house was built in 1897 for his wife, Touie, who was battling tuberculosis. It was here that Conan Doyle wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles and brought Holmes back from the dead in The Empty House. The property later became a hotel, but after falling into disrepair, it was almost lost to redevelopment plans to split it into flats.
Those plans were halted in 2010 after a successful legal challenge. The Undershaw Preservation Trust, supported by public figures including Julian Barnes, Ian Rankin, Stephen Fry, Mark Gatiss, and the Victorian Society, convinced the High Court that Waverley Borough Council had failed to properly consider the building’s historical value.
But it was not just the historic house that was saved. Undershaw was later bought by philanthropist David Forbes-Nixon and turned into a school for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), meaning that for hundreds of children, Undershaw was once again a safe place – a home – saving their futures. The Stepping Stones school was opened by parents Larry Sullivan and Sandra Seagrove after they found it impossible to find a suitable school for their daughter with hemiplegia.
It began in a converted church with just three pupils. In 2016, David Forbes-Nixon found Stepping Stones while looking for a school for his son Charlie, who has cerebral palsy.
“Charlie finally had a school that felt like home,” said David. “He had friends.”
It now teaches more than 100 children, with the church still in use as an arts and media centre.
Undershaw’s connection to the legacy of Conan Doyle continues through a longstanding partnership with MX Publishing, the world’s largest publisher of Sherlock Holmes fiction. Over the past decade, royalties from dozens of contributing authors have been donated directly to the school – raising more than £100,000 so far to support specialist resources, equipment, and services for pupils.
A recent fundraising evening hosted at Undershaw brought in further donations. Marking the tenth anniversary of MX Publishing’s global Sherlock Holmes anthology, the event featured live storytelling by actors Luke Barton and Joe Derrington, a demonstration of deduction by Ben Cardall, and a celebrity-led auction. MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Stafford were among the attendees.
More than £14,000 was raised on the night – with £10,000 donated by MX Publishing – to help install a sensory regulation cube in the school’s arts and media centre, giving students essential tools to manage anxiety, overstimulation and emotional regulation – common challenges for those with SEND.
“We’re incredibly grateful to MX Publishing and all the authors who continue to support the school,” said Headteacher Emma West. “Their generosity is making a direct and lasting difference to our students’ lives.”
The school’s motto, ‘eliminating the impossible’, shows how the legacy of one author is helping to change the lives of countless children.