Upton Cressett

Photo credit: Upton Cressett Hall and St Michael's Church,  Mike Wootton

Upton Cressett Hall, which is under a kilometre from the proposed site at Meadowley, is regarded as one of the most important non-ecclesiastical buildings in Shropshire and one of the county's secret ‘jewels’.

The house is a sixteenth century moated Elizabethan brick manor with historic gatehouse and Norman church set in an unusually remote and romantic landscape, just three miles from Bridgnorth in the heart of PG Wodehouse's Blandings country. A splendid example of the English manor house at its most evocative' states Country Life. 'The gatehouse is an Elizabethan gem' writes Simon Jenkins in England's Best Houses ‘A remarkable Tudor house of brick’ states architectural authority Nikolaus Pevsner in The Buildings of England.

At Upton Cressett there is also the 12th century church of St Michael at Upton Cressett which is managed by The Church Conservation Trust and is very popular visitor attraction for walkers and cyclists.

The historic Gatehouse is also a flourishing writers retreat where international writers from around the world come to work for up to six week periods where they can enjoy the remote and uniquely quiet and creative environment, away from the modern world. Having wind farms close by – and you would be able to see the turbines clearly from the Gatehouse – would ruin the appeal of this writers retreat, one of very few of its type in Britain.

Following considerable investment and renovation work over two years, the house and gardens are open to the public as an important local heritage attraction, being one of very few historic houses in the Bridgnorth area that is open to the public and for school visits. Having a wind farm of turbines within less than a kilometre away would greatly harm visitor appeal and local tourism. The key to Upton Cressett’s unique historic attraction is its ‘delightful’ (Country Life), remote and timeless location undisturbed by vast Goliath-like pylons and turbines.

From The Villages of Shropshire:

Although less than 3 miles west of Bridgnorth, Upton Cressett seems very remote and hardly part of the 21st century. The older and more historical part of Upton Cressett is approached by a very steep road climbing through the woods on Meadowley Bank, which followed to its end, through a ford, leads to the Hall, a very beautiful rose- red brick house with a fine Elizabethan gatehouse. It has been a long held tradition that the young Princes spent a night here in 1483, on their way from their imprisonment in Ludlow Castle to their subsequent death in the Tower of London.

The website Secret Shropshire also features the Hall, Gatehouse and Norman church. For detailed information on Upton Cressett Hall, and to read about the Upton Cressett writers retreat, The Gatehouse and gardens, Norman church and programme of open air theatre and concerts for the community see www.uptoncressetthall.co.uk.