GARA ROCK
Life at Gara Rock began back in 1842, when an order was received by the Board of Customs to establish a Coastguard Station in Rickham, and a temporary station and lookout was duly established the following year. However, this was deemed inadequate, and in 1844, plans were afoot for a permanent station at Rickham. In 1847, construction began of a Coastguard Station and Lookout, and was completed that same year, marked by the completion of the “Great Wall of Gara”. At this station, Coastguard Chief Lt. John Walker R.N. and seven assistants lived and worked, together with their families, whose number totalled 41 according to the 1851 census.
Gara Rock remained a Coastguard Station until 1909, when it was purchased by Richard Jordan and converted into a family hotel; Gara’s destiny was realised. The success of the hotel was marked by its growth at this time, with the addition of a second storey in 1919, and a breakfast room by 1925. In the 1930s, Gara was established as a highly popular, secluded holiday resort; it received a number of notable guests at this time, including Margaret Rutherford, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Sir John Betjeman, and was treated to a number of further extensions and refurbishments.
In 1940, the hotel was requisitioned by the RAF to become a base for the nearby radar station at West Prawle, where they remained for approximately three years. Gara finally reopened as a family hotel again in 1946 under its new owner, Commander Lloyd Owen. In 1950, the hotel was altered again following a fire which destroyed part of the staff accommodation block on the west side; in its place was constructed a new front entrance for the hotel. At this time, Owen retired and sold the hotel to the Richards family, who reopened the hotel in June 1962 following further refurbishment.
In 2004, Gara Rock was purchased by Coast Group, and remained a family hotel for two more years until it was finally closed in 2006 and work began on demolishing the hotel with a view to replacing it with a new resort.
In 2008, work commenced on construction of the new Gara Rock Hotel. https://www.gararock.com/