The Bridge House Hotel today is a far cry from the original Bridge Farm, which was owned by the Elliots. In the 1920s the farm was managed by Mr Budden, and then Captain Beaumont-Ford. It then changed hands and became a fisherman’s hotel run by Mr and Mrs Newton. They sold it in the late 1940s to Mrs and Miss Nixon (mother and daughter) who continued to run it as a hotel, providing afternoon teas in their charming waterside garden.
Many of the stars from the summer shows in Bournemouth came out to Longham for horse riding, fishing and afternoon tea.
Telly Savalas played ‘Ernst Stavros Blofeld’ in the 1969 James Bond Film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. He got paid $1,000,000 and with that bought The Bridge House. A couple of family members ran it for him as a hotel. Previously part of ‘Old English Inns’ and ‘Green King’ The Bridge House is now independently owned.
Over the last two years The Bridge House has undergone a £2,000,000 refurbishment and now has 49 en suite bedrooms, Riverside Function Suite, Carvery, Bar & Grill and fabulous new Riverside Terrace.
