Aldenham Park, also known as Aldenham Hall, is a late 17th-century country house in Morville, near

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

, Shropshire, England which stands in 12 hectares of parkland. It is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building. The house is built of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

in two-storeys with an 11 bay frontage and a raised parapet. It is approached via a lime-lined avenue through a set of ornate gates surmounted by the Acton family crest. The surrounding parkland is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

The manor of Morville was acquired in 1465 by Thomas Acton, who built a fortified

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

. That house was replaced in the early 17th century by his descendant Walter Acton. Walter's son, Sir Edward, was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1643 and was succeeded in turn by Sir Walter and Sir Edward. All three baronets served as MPs for

. The third baronet married a wealthy heiress and in the late 17th century started to remodel the early 17th century house. The work was continued after Sir Edward's death in 1716 by his son, Sir Whitmore, who also made alterations to the park and gardens. The fifth baronet made little improvement to the estate other than building the stables around 1751. When he died without a direct heir in 1791, Aldenham passed to General

Sir John Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individual ...

, a distant cousin who lived in Naples and was the Prime Minister of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

. Sir John never visited Aldenham. The General's grandson, Sir John Dalberg-Acton, was created

Baron Acton Baron Acton, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 December 1869 for Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet, a prominent historian and Liberal Member of Parliament. His so ...

in 1869. A noted politician and historian, Lord Acton built a substantial library circa 1865, which was demolished in the early 20th century. He was a professor of modern history at Cambridge University from 1895 and spent little time at Aldenham after 1878. He died in 1902 and was succeeded as second Baron by his son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

. The family still occupied the house in the early 20th century, but subsequently it was let. In the mid 20th century it was occupied by the third Lord Acton's step-mother-in-law, Lady Rayleigh, and her son, the Hon. Guy Strutt. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Monsignor

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an ...

lived at Aldenham Hall while continuing to work on his translation of

The Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, of his own initiat ...

that was ultimately published as the

Knox Bible ''The Holy Bible: A Translation From the Latin Vulgate in the Light of the Hebrew and Greek Originals'' is a Catholic version of the Bible in three volumes (later published in one volume editions) translated by Monsignor Ronald Knox, the English ...

. In 1959 the estate was sold to Mr and Mrs Christopher Thompson, who undertook a major restoration project. The estate remains in private ownership and is used as a wedding and conference venue.

References

External links

{{Authority control Country houses in Shropshire Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire

History

See also

References

External links