Upton Cressett Hall
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Upton Cressett Hall is an
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed
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 ...
in the village of
Upton Cressett Upton Cressett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. Population details for the 2011 census are shown under Aston Eyre parish. The village is notable as the location of three Grade I listed buildings, St Michael's ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It is a Grade I-
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 ...
. The hall was built of brick between c.1540 and c.1580 for the Cressett family to an irregular floor plan and includes an aisled
great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
.


History

The Cressett family became Lords of Upton by marriage in the late 14th century. The hall was built on the site of an earlier house for Hugh (or Hugo) Cressett, a Royal Commissioner in the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
and Constable of Mortimer Castle. Hugh and his son Robert were both in turn
High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...
. Originally the house was timber framed with a great hall, a
solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
wing and a cross-wing. In 1580 the house was substantially remodelled by Richard Cressett, the
High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...
for 1584, who encased the building in brick, added large brick chimneystacks and by creating a false ceiling in the great hall allowed the creation of first-floor rooms. Richard was succeeded in 1601 by Edward Cressett, a prominent
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
who was killed in 1646 at the Battle of Bridgnorth. Edward's son Sir Francis Cressett became Steward and Treasurer to
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
; during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, Upton Cressett was a Royalist stronghold. James Cressett was a senior diplomat during the reign of
William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
and
Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...
and that of Queen Anne; he served as envoy at the Court of Hanover in the 1690s and
envoy extraordinary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...
to
Frederick IV of Denmark Frederick IV (Danish: ''Frederik''; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Early lif ...
in 1700. After
Cound Hall Cound Hall, in Cound, Shropshire, England, is a Grade I listed building. It is a large vernacular Baroque house, with a basement and two storeys of tall slender windows topped by a half-storey, built of red brick with stone dressings. The hous ...
became the family seat in 1792, Upton Cressett Hall was used as a farmhouse until it was bought c.1937 by carpet manufacturer Sir Herbert Smith, Bt as a shooting lodge. After his death in 1943, the house was left unoccupied and gradually fell into a state of disrepair, losing some of the room panelling. It was purchased in 1969 by Sir William Cash, MP for
Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and father of the current owner,
William Cash Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. ...
, and has since been much restored. The Hall and gardens have been open to the public, and for group visits for tea, since the 1970s. The grounds contain several
Spanish chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...
trees planted in 1815 to commemorate the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, which began to die off in more recent years. In 2015, the bicentenary of the battle, a new sapling cultivated at Hougoumont Farm was planted as a replacement by the 7th Earl Cathcart, William Cash junior's father-in-law. Report by James Fisher of the christening of Cash junior's daughter and the coincidental
tree planting Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...
.


The Gatehouse

The Gatehouse dates from the 16th century. It has been completely renovated and is let on short-term rentals. It has been occupied at one time or another by
Prince Rupert of the Rhine Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
,
King Edward V Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland f ...
,
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
,
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
,
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, Sir
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
and
Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model. As an actress, her best-known film roles have been as Vanessa Kensington in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in '' Bedazzled'' (2 ...
.


See also

*
Grade I listed buildings in Shropshire Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...
*
Listed buildings in Upton Cressett Upton Cressett is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. In the parish are six listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, and the ot ...


References


External links

* {{coord, 52.5284, -2.5087, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Shropshire Elizabethan architecture Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Shropshire Houses completed in the 16th century