Berwick House is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Country House An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

on the banks of 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 ...

north of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The house dates from the 1700s, and is listed at

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. There was once a fine pair of fine wrought-iron gates by Robert Davies of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

in the park to the south-east of the house, which are now at

Newnham Paddox Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 445. Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east of ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

Battle of Shrewsbury and Hotspur Legend

The land associated with the house is linked with the

Battle of Shrewsbury The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archers ...

, which is commemorated by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

in ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'', in Acts IV (Scenes 1 and 3) and V (Scenes 1–5) It is understood that Hotspur and his forces slept overnight near Berwick. A legend says that when the forces were marshalled on the morning of battle, he suddenly discovered that he was without his favourite sword which was left behind at Berwick, upon hearing this he became agitated and exclaimed, "I perceive that my plough is drawing to its last furrow, for a wizard in Northumberland told me that I should perish at Berwick, which I understood to refer to Berwick in the north.” The Wizard's prophecy appears to have been fulfilled, for the gallant soldier fell a victim to his enemies and died on the field of battle.

Notable former residents

Basil Feilding, 7th Earl of Denbigh William Basil Percy Feilding, 7th Earl of Denbigh, 6th Earl of Desmond, GCH, PC (25 March 1796 – 25 June 1865), styled Viscount Feilding between 1799 and 1800, was a British peer and courtier. Background and education Feilding was the eldest ...

(1796-1965), was born there. *

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...

(1817-1895), MP for

1885-92, bought the estate in 1875 and moved into the house in 1879. Raised the Berwick Jersey cattle herd on the estate, one of the earliest such herds in England.

Current use

The house today is used as a wedding venue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berwick House Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Country houses in Shropshire Georgian architecture in England Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury