Preston Montford, or Preston Montford Hall, is a historic house west 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 England that is used as a
field studies centre by
Field Studies Council
Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors.
History
It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...
. The large eighteenth-century house with later additions is set in of grassland and woodland 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 ...
. It lies within easy reach of the meres and mosses landscape of north
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 th ...
, as well as the varied landscapes of the
Shropshire Hills
The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge, The Wrek ...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
. It is a
grade II* listed building
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 ...
, indicating a particularly important building of more than special interest.
Opened as a field studies centre in 1957, Preston Montford is visited by students of
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
, and by school groups. Specialist interest groups regularly visit the centre. The
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
ran its 1-week undergraduate residential course SXR216 ''Environmental science in the field'' at the centre from 2003-2011.
It has developed partnerships with
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
and the
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botani ...
to tackle the decline in skills of
field taxonomy through the MSc in 'Biological Recording and Ecological Surveying'.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bicton, Shrewsbury
External links
''Preston Montford Field Centre''
References
{{Coord, 52.7236, -2.8408, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Shrewsbury and Atcham
Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire
Field studies centres in the United Kingdom