https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/eerie-abandoned-mansion-filled-dolls-22386583?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Mirror12at17&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter&ccid=2369561Eerie abandoned mansion filled with dolls and relics left to rot for almost 40 years
Pineheath House, near Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, was once one of the most luxurious homes in the country now it is nothing but a shell
ByJane LavenderAssistant Editor
14:32, 21 JUL 2020Updated00:37, 23 JUL 2020
Pineheath House was once the epitome of opulence - built for the landed gentry with every luxury imaginable. But now, the stunning 40-room mansion lies eerily abandoned and has been left to rot for almost 40 years. Once a holiday home for Indian shipping magnate Sir Dhunjibhoy and Lady Bomanji the huge property has been trapped in a time warp since its previous owners passed away. Instead, it is now filled with relics of the past, some dating back to the 1920s, with the beds still made, pictures still hanging on the walls and dolls still lying on pillows. Pineheath was the autumn home of Sir Dhunjibhoy and Lady Bomanji. He received a knighthood in 1922 after he used much of his vast wealth to help Britain become victorious against Germany during World War One. Determined to use his wealth for good, Sir Dhunjibhoy has huge amounts of his money to good causes throughout his life. He donated most to charities which supported those who had fought in the Great War and the widows of those who did not return from the fighting. The couple, who had close relations with Britain's aristocracy, including the royal family, would spend the summer at their home in Windsor. Each year they would return to India for a third of the year before returning to Pineheath, near Harrogate in Yorkshire, each autumn. Lady Bomanji continued the tradition until her death in 1986 almost 50 years after her husband, Sir Dhunjibhoy, passed away. Since she passed away, the property has been completely untouched a mirror back in time to catch a glimpse of Britain's wealthiest families. Several of the rooms in the 40-bedroom home still have their 1920s wallpaper, along with fixtures and fittings. In drawers and on side tables are newspapers dating back almost 100 years, along with invites to some of the best society parties up to the 1970s. Priceless chandeliers hang from several of the ceilings, and many of the rooms contain, now dust-covered and rusting, treasures from a bygone time. The home also provides a rarely seen glimpse into how the wealthy lived among their servants. A rusting phone system is still in the mansion, long covered in dust from misuse, which would be used to call staff to attend to the owners' requests. The kitchen has remained entirely untouched by time, with a gas heater resting above the sink, ready to heat water, and an ancient coffee grinder on one wall. A sea of keys, each one carefully labelled, can be found in one drawer - giving those who needed them access to suitcases, the tennis pavilion, and many of the rooms. Chairs in the morning room, stiff and creaky after remaining empty for almost 40 years, are still in place and bedcovers remain on the beds in the servants' quarters, where a mirror also hangs on the wall. Portraits of the owners and the Queen have pride of place on the walls and one of the master bedrooms contains a very dated ensuite shower room. The walls are covered in lavish, hand-painted wallpaper while Sir Dhunjibhoy and Lady Bomanji's initials are monogrammed into the ceilings. Fine soap from decades past is in delicate soap dishes in the bathrooms, while kitchen scales lie unused and covered in dust. Sherry and cocktail glasses fill the ornate drinks cabinet while an opened packet of tobacco remains unsmoked. Suitcases that contained luggage on trips decades ago sit unused and covered in dust and cobwebs. Pineheath House has now attracted urban explorers who describe it as a "truly one of Harrogate's oldest and most forgotten homes".
One said: "The rooms are enormous. It is almost a complete shell now and it's so sad that nothing is being done with this huge and potentially stunning mansion. "As I started walking upstairs, I was convinced I could hear someone walking around. I must have stayed on the stairs not moving for at least five minutes trying to figure out what the noises were. Finally I advance further up the stairs and about three pigeons flew out from the roof."
