Benthall Hall is a 16th-century English country house in Benthall in the town of

Broseley Broseley is a market town in Shropshire, England, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census and an estimate of 5,022 in 2019. The River Severn flows to its north and east. The first The Iron Bridge, iron bridge in the world was built in 17 ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and a few miles from the historic Ironbridge Gorge. It retains much of its fine

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

interior, and an elaborate 17th-century staircase. It is still occupied by the Benthall family, but has been owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

since 1958, and is open to the public every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday (February – October). The Hall was built around 1580, probably on the site of an earlier 12th-century

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

manor and

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

it was garrisoned, and was a site of several skirmishes. The garden is largely the product of two tenants. George Maw (1832–1912), local pottery manufacturer and

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain under ...

enthusiast developed the garden from around 1865 onwards. Subsequently, the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

Romantic painter and sculptor Robert Bateman (1842–1922), who was the son of a famous

horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, added the rockeries and terraces of the current garden. The

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

era

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

of St. Bartholomew, built 1667–68, stands close by the Hall. The

Shropshire Way The Shropshire Way Main Route is a waymarked long distance footpath running through the English county of Shropshire. It runs around the interior of the county in two loops centred on Shrewsbury, with an additional spur to Whitchurch. The Ma ...

, a waymarked

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...

, passes through the extensive

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

that lies to the north, between the estate and the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

. In the film ''Enola Holmes'', Benthall Hall was used for the exterior shots of the Holmes' family estate.

References

{{reflist

External links

Benthall Hall information at the National Trustwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Benthall Hall and surrounding area today
Country houses in Shropshire Gardens in Shropshire National Trust properties in Shropshire Buildings and structures in Shropshire Historic house museums in Shropshire Grade I listed buildings in Shropshire

See also

References

External links