Meet Your Hosts at Hoe Park House
Ian Dickinson is a Plymouth-born actor and voice-over artist who spent his formative years in St Germans, a picturesque village in southeast Cornwall. In 1983, he moved to London to pursue a career in acting. Soon afterwards, a chance encounter led him into the music industry, where he went on to co-found and serve as Managing Director of both a record label and a music publishing company.
In 1988, Ian stepped down from these roles to refocus on acting. He studied drama and English literature at the Working Men’s College in London, while continuing to freelance within the music industry.
Ian relocated to Berlin in 1995 and has since worked extensively across theatre, film and television in both German and English. Alongside his screen and stage work, he has built a substantial career as a voice-over artist, with credits spanning commercials, documentary, animation, museum audio guides and corporate film.
He divides his time between Berlin and Hoe Park House in Plymouth, and has held dual British–German citizenship since 2017. In 2019, following eight years managing Cornish holiday properties with his brother Derek, he acquired Hoe Park House.
Derek Dickinson, Ian’s brother and co-host of Hoe Park House, is a multimedia artist with a Master’s in Fine Art. In 1983, he relocated to London, where he worked as a designer and stylist across film, photography, television, video, and performance. He also served as an assistant director on music videos and was involved in artist management and PR, primarily within the music industry.
In 1994, Derek returned to the South West and later pursued formal education in the arts. He completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Plymouth University in 2010 and earned a Master of Arts in Contemporary Art Practice in 2022.
Over his career, Derek has exhibited in numerous solo and collaborative shows, including a solo exhibition at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth and The Summer Exhibition 2020 at The Royal Academy in London, as well as at various venues across the South West of England.
Derek’s work is featured in permanent collections across the United States, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He currently resides in a remote farmhouse cottage on the Duchy of Cornwall Estate.
The Hoe Park House Story
In taking on a tired Victorian terraced house, we embarked on quite a project. A complete roof-to-foundation renovation during a pandemic. Well, why not…
When we got the keys to Hoe Park House in February 2020, it was a battleship-grey, tired-looking former B&B. Its four bedrooms had been split into smaller, cramped rooms with boxy 70s-style ensuite bathrooms. But we loved the house and its quiet cul-de-sac location between the Barbican and Plymouth Hoe so much that we could easily look beyond the excessive partition walls and dated décor to envision its true potential.
Despite the challenges of 2020 and 2021, our skilled tradespeople navigated the restrictions brilliantly, ensuring the renovation continued.
As with any project of this scale, things grew as we uncovered more structural issues to fix. But there were also many joyful discoveries along the way. Gradually, the hidden details of the old house began to re-emerge: the elegant ceiling roses and coving, the sliding pocket doors that once served as room dividers, and the beautiful floorboards on the upper storeys.
We removed the last traces of its life as a B&B. The cramped en-suites and partition walls came out, creating an instant sense of light and space, and Hoe Park House began to breathe again. With the original layout restored, we could fully appreciate the elegant proportions of this 1800s townhouse.
It’s been a blend of restoration and recreation, bringing the best of the past into the present. We carefully reclaimed the original Victorian floorboards from the upper floors, treating them before installing in the sitting room and kitchen. Now beautifully finished with an extra-tough clear satin, they add warmth and history to the space, sitting in perfect contrast to the gorgeously soft new carpets in the bedrooms, which bring a touch of modern luxury.
To further preserve the home’s original charm, we replaced the outdated uPVC windows with bespoke wooden replicas of the originals. These elegant sliding sash windows now sit proudly in place, seamlessly blending into the house’s period character.
But this project wasn’t just about faithfully restoring a Victorian townhouse—we also wanted to blend period charm with modern comfort. The basement rooms were transformed into a spacious, open-plan kitchen-diner, creating a welcoming space where guests can gather, cook, dine, and socialise—the true heart of Hoe Park House.
The work has spanned everything from major structural changes in the basement to excavating tons of concrete to create lower-ground access from street level, as well as intricate restoration, such as the original flooring and coving. It’s been a huge project, from the roof to the foundation, with every detail in between. We’re incredibly proud of the finished house and how beautifully it has come together.
The results are stunning: a lovingly restored home, with its elegant front door wide open to welcome guests old and new.
We truly love Hoe Park House, and hope you will too!