Undershaw is located close to the A333 road in the village of Hindhead in Surrey, near the town of Haslemere and is about 40 miles (64 km) south west of London.

[2] The location was chosen to cater to the medical needs of Doyle's wife Louise, nicknamed 'Touie', who had tuberculosis; doctors of the era recommended healthy air, for which Surrey was known.

Writing to his mother Mary in May 1895, Doyle lauded the building site because "... its height, its dryness, its sandy soil, its fir trees, and its shelter from all bitter winds present the conditions which all agree to be best in the treatment of phthisis.

I have golf, good cricket, my own billiard table, excellent society, a large lake to fish in not far off, riding if I choose to take it up, and some of the most splendid walks & scenery that could be possibly conceived.

The windows also featured specially manufactured stained glass with a coat of arms said to be that of Doyle's family; many of these have not survived the attacks of vandals in recent years.

Doyle's home also included a generator for the electric lighting, which was not common outside of cities at the time, and a dining room which could seat thirty people.

[5] The house was the place where many of Doyle's most famous works were written including The Great Boer War, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Adventures of Gerard, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Sir Nigel.

Barrie, Thomas Wemyss Reid, Gordon Guggisberg, Churton Collins, Virginia Woolf, and Bertram Fletcher Robinson.

"We are very hopeful that this decision will signal a sea change in attitude towards this historic property and that it will lead to it being rightly preserved as a single building – hopefully as a museum or centre where future generations can be inspired by the many stories which have been created within its walls.."[9] On 18 August 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported[4] that plans were in motion to redevelop the home into a multi-unit apartment building, stating "The hammers start raining blows on Undershaw as early as next month."

The plan continued to be opposed by the preservationists, who wanted to see the house maintained as a single structure in whatever form it is subsequently put to, such as a home or museum.

[10][11][12] A government report stated that the house was not architecturally notable, and that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not of the same standing as Jane Austen or Charles Dickens.

Others publicly opposing the development plans were Julian Barnes who set part of his novel Arthur & George at Undershaw, former Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and Mark Gatiss, a writer and co-producer of the UK television series Sherlock.

The features which made Undershaw special, specifically the stained glass windows and our proposal to faithfully re-create Conan-Doyle’s study is very exciting and will be enjoyed by our children and visitors.