At the very mouth of the river, where Exmoor Forest meets the sea, in an enviably quiet, sunny south facing corner of Lynmouth. This solid stone built house with pretty gardens was commissioned for an eminent Victorian sea captain and his family in 1882, when Britannia ruled the waves at the height of the golden days of the glorious Raj and the British Empire. From here on January 12 1899 on a cold wet, stormy and treacherous night and through lightening, Captain Jack Crocombe initiated and completed the world famous “Overland Launch”. Complete with shire horses and brave Lynmouth men, they carried the Lynmouth Lifeboat Louisa up and over the moors, and the highest cliff tops in England. Dragging the lifeboat over 14 miles by road to Porlock Weir, where the sea was calm enough to launch, the brave team saved the lives of the crew of the ill-fated Forrest Hall ship (as documented in the Guinness Book of Records).

On 2nd November 1942 another former resident from here was Captain William Burgess whose ocean travelling deep water ship “The Llandeilo” which was on a “secret” voyage between Trinidad and Cape Town got torpedoed! The 2nd world war was in full swing. The crew got away scrambling for their lives into two lifeboats which became seperated after 3 days. Sadly Captain Burgess’s one was never found, he and 16 others died. After 5 days lost at sea the other lifeboat was miraculously rescued by a Norwegian ship, one of these brave survivors, able-bodied seaman Kenneth Oxenham, lived to tell of this remarkable adventure and the fate of his captain.

The Captain’s House is a paradise for nature lovers and walkers. The poets Shelley, Wordsworth and Coleridge visited the area and wrote lovingly of our village many times. The classic novel Lorna Doone by R D Blackmore was penned and set here.

Later this solid old house survived unscathed, sheltering its residents during the great Flood Disaster of August 15 1952 when many of Lynmouth’s buildings were devastated and lives lost.

Today The Captain’s House opens its doors to guests from all corners of the world welcoming you to a choice of nine splendid bedrooms each commanding stunning and dramatic river and/or valley views, all with an oriental touch.