SALISBURY’S Clovelly Hotel is to close next month and be turned into serviced apartments for tourists and business visitors.

The 12 one and two-bedroom apartments, close to the station, are intended to provide a ‘home from home’ where people can stay for anything from one night to a year.

They will offer secure broadband, washing facilities and shopping services.

The building in Mill Road is thought to have begun life as a row of 18th century cottages. It has been a hotel for 75 years, and its name is believed to have been chosen because of the Devon village’s popularity with holidaymakers using the Great Western Railway.

The hotel’s present owners, Rowena and Hadyn Ingram, bought it in 1992 and looked into its history.

Mrs Ingram, a Blue Badge Guide, said actor Sir Timothy West recalls staying in a hotel near the station – presumably the Clovelly – shortly after the Second World War. For a fee of 2s 6d, he said, guests were given a plug with which to have a bath. In those days, he could not afford it, so used his sock to plug the bath.

Over the years the Clovelly has accommodated more than half a million people.

Now the Ingrams have formed a partnership with Mary Webb, who runs Salisbury Apartments. In January the refurbishment will begin, and the building is scheduled to reopen in May as Peartree Serviced Apartments.