The clue that reveals Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch may have spent lockdown in Hawke's Bay

Clues left by Sherlock Holmes himself may have solved the rumour of whether Benedict Cumberbatch spent lockdown at a luxury Hawke's Bay lodge.

The Hollywood actor is rumoured to have spent the last two months at the picturesque Summerlee Luxury Retreat in Te Awanga.

Cumberbatch, who has been in New Zealand filming Netflix drama The Power of the Dog, joined Taika Waititi and Meryl Streep in the second of a 10-episode virtual read-along of James & The Giant Peach.

The 43-year-old, who has starred in films including Star Trek, Doctor Strange, Avengers: End Game and 12 Years a Slave, sat in a room with what appears to be a strikingly familiar backdrop.

A thorough Hawke's Bay Today investigation of the book shelf in the Summerlee Luxury Retreat's study, one of many features of the 4ha property, shows it shares striking similarities with the one Cumberbatch is Zooming from.

Rumours that Cumberbatch has been hunkered down in Hawke's Bay, along with wife Sophie Hunter and their two children, emerged after the first stage of filming for The Power of the Dog, directed by Jane Campion, wrapped in the South Island.

Cast and crew headed to Auckland for stage two of filming in early March, before alert level 4 lockdown was introduced.

Summerlee Luxury Retreat declined to comment on whether or not Cumberbatch was staying there but said the lodge is "booked for quite some time".

"The owners are going in June; otherwise it is available for booking from July," they said.

The resort has recently undergone a major renovation and restoration, with an expansive landscape that encompasses a tennis court, large petanque court and separate pool and pool house area.

The eight bedroom and seven bathroom property on Clifton Rd has an estimated cost of up to $3500 a night to rent.