A Devon hotel that was once connected to the family of Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales has been named the best large hotel in England by the country’s tourist board.

Bovey Castle clinched gold in the Large Hotel of the Year category at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

The five star property, which has 60 bedrooms, 22 self-catering lodges and a 160-strong workforce, made it to the national awards after winning the equivalent title in the Devon Tourism Awards earlier this year.

It's one of Devon's finest hotels that has its origin in the early years of the twentieth century, when it was built as a private mansion for gentleman Tory Lord Hambleton. After being used as a convalescent hosiptial during the Great War it was acquired by Great Western Railway around 1928 and opened as the Manor House Hotel. The railway company's chairman at the time was Victor Spencer, who became the first Viscount Churchill, as well as GWR's longest-serving chair - and part of the aristocratic Spencer-Churchill family, who have supplied the country with MPs and princesses.

Now owned by the Rigby Group, which also operates Exeter Airport, it is part of their Eden Group Collection. Another hotel in the group, Mallory Court Hotel and Spa, took home the same title last year.

Many famous and glitzy people have passed through Bovey Castle's doors. Most famously in recent years, Devon diver Tom Daley made his wedding vows there.

In an anonymous visit for this year's tourism awards, VisitEngland judges praised Bovey Castle as “the perfect hotel to escape from it all; whether that is relaxation and pampering, to fine dining or country pursuits.”

The hotel has invested hugely in recent years, including £160,000 in golf facilities, including a new lounge and driving range. That's led to a rise in the number of female golf members.

General manager Dean Gunston, said: “This is the third time we have been crowned as Devon’s Large Hotel of the Year, so it is amazing to go one step further and land the national title.

“The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence are the cream of the crop when it comes to hospitality awards – so I am extremely proud of my whole team, as without them, this would not be possible."