Built in 1904 for a painter who wanted the light

In the 1880s a group of painters settled in Newlyn to work outdoors, in front of the thing they were painting: fish being landed, boats being mended, weather coming in off the Atlantic. Stanhope Forbes became the centre of that group, and with Elizabeth Forbes he founded the Newlyn School of Painting in 1899.

The school taught outdoors as a matter of principle. It is one of the reasons Newlyn — a working port rather than a resort — became one of the most important artists' colonies in Britain.

Forbes built Higher Faugan in 1904 on the hill above the harbour, and gave it the name of the field it stands in. The house faces the bay. Its windows are tall and its sills are deep, because it was built by someone who spent his life thinking about light.

Look at the hall, the staircase and the landing and the intention is still legible: rooms arranged so that the daylight moves through the house rather than stopping at the front wall.

Higher Faugan is now seven suites and rooms, run by its owners. There is no bar, no restaurant and no reception desk with a queue at it. The grounds are private to guests, and the house is quiet because there are only ever seven parties in it.

Most of what we do is answer the telephone, hand over keys, tell people where the tide is, and keep the lawn cut.

We are careful about the claims we make here. Higher Faugan's association with Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes is a matter of record; anything beyond that — anecdotes about specific rooms, works painted in the house, or later owners — is only published once the owners have confirmed it.