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Mission StatementTo  save Undershaw for the Nation by relaunching it as the Conan Doyle  Museum and Centre for British and Irish Crime Writing, thus affirming  its cultural value and Conan Doyle's place in the literary heritage of  Great Britain and Ireland, and beyond.Dear Colleagues,We now have only a little time left before the High Court hearing (23rd May) to rally support for saving Undershaw as a Conan Doyle Museum / Centre for British &#38; Irish Crime Writing, establishing and furthering the cultural and social value of the house.UNDERSHAW &#38; CONAN DOYLEUndershaw  was built to Conan Doyle’s own designs in 1897, one of the very few  writers’ houses with this input. During the ten years that he lived  there he wrote many of his most popular stories including fourteen  Sherlock Holmes adventures, and ten Brigadier Gerard tales. This has  recently been documented by Alistair Duncan in his An Entirely New Country - Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw and the Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes (MX  Publishing 2011). When Conan Doyle sold Undershaw in 1927 it became an  hotel. This closed its doors in 2004 and the property was sold to a  development company, Fosseway Ltd.Now  Undershaw may be turned into maisonettes, its gardens built over.  Planning permission for this was granted by Waverley Borough Council, a  decision which should be overturned at judicial review at the High Court  in London on 23rd May 2012. But what better or more appropriate place  could there be for a Conan Doyle Museum and Centre for British and Irish  Crime Writing, thus affirming its cultural value and Conan Doyle's  place in the literary heritage of Great Britain and Ireland, and beyond,  open and accessible to the public all year round (including school  visits), with a library, conference facilities, crime writing courses  and a writer in residence?THE UNDERSHAW ALLIANCEMany  heritage houses have been lost, but many more have been saved: why  should Undershaw not be one of them? To campaign for its conservation as  a Conan Doyle Museum and Centre for British and Irish Crime Writing,  two supporters’ groups have been set up, Academics for Undershaw and  Crime Writers for Undershaw , the first as a body of authoritative  opinion affirming the cultural value of Undershaw, the second honouring  Conan Doyle’s place as an ancestor of to-day’s detective fiction. These  two groups form the UNDERSHAW ALLIANCE, more than 500 strong, and  working to enlist opinion formers and professionals.The  Undershaw Alliance believes that Undershaw can and must be saved for  the nation, for the enjoyment of the nation: indeed, in the context of  cultural tourism, of all the nations. Our task now is to appeal to a broader public and enlist greater international public support for this.More information at  www.undershawalliance.com.Best wishes,David Charles Rose