| Wilderhope Manor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Rushbury,Shropshire, England |
| Coordinates | 52°31′53″N2°40′22″W / 52.53139°N 2.67278°W /52.53139; -2.67278 |
| OS grid reference | SO545928 |
| Built | 16th century |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 12 November 1954[1] |
| Reference no. | 1383384 |
  Location of Wilderhope Manor in Shropshire | |
Wilderhope Manor is a 16th-centurymanor house in the care of theNational Trust. It is located onWenlock Edge 7 miles (11 km) south west ofMuch Wenlock inShropshire,England. The manor is a Grade Ilisted building and since 1937 has been used as ayouth hostel.
Wilderhope Manor is anElizabethan-periodmanor house, built of locallimestone and dating from 1585. The house was built for Francis Smallman and his initials can be seen on the ceilings.[2] The manor remained in the family until 1734 when the estate including the neighbouring Wilderhope farm was sold toThomas Lutwyche.[2] It is believed that the manor house was not used as a main residence after the sale in 1734 and by 1936 was in a poor state and unoccupied.[3] In 1936 the property was purchased by theW. A. Cadbury Trust who donated it to the National Trust on condition that it was used as a youth hostel.[4] Opening as a youth hostel in 1937,[4] it has remained in use by theYouth Hostels Association since.[5] A £500,000 refurbishment was completed in 2012 and the youth hostel offers 72 beds including a bridal suite with afour-poster bed.[6]
Despite years of disuse many of the original features such as the oaken stairways, oak spiral stairs and ornateplaster ceilings survived.[1] The adjoining stable block is itself aGrade II listed building.[7]
The manor house is in limestone with dressings ingritstone,quoins,hood moulds,copings andfinials on the front, and a stone-slate roof. There are two storeys and attics, and an approximately H-shaped plan. The entrance front has sixbays and four unequalgables, three of them over projecting bays. In the left projecting gable is a porch, the windows aremullioned andtransomed, and at the rear is a semicircular stair turret with a conical roof.[8][9]
The stables, now used for other purposes, are in brick with astorey band, and have tile roofs withparapeted gables. They have a single storey and lofts, and a U-shaped plan with a main range of three bays. The windows arecasements with segmental arches, and there are doorways and loft openings.[8][10]
The surroundingmanor of Wilderhope is also managed by the National Trust and comprises wooded valleys, pasture, flower-rich meadows and ancient hedgerows dating back centuries along unchanged field boundaries. Evidence ofmedievalridge and furrow ploughing can still be seen in fields below Wilderhope Coppice.[11]
The Manor's owner during theEnglish Civil War was Major Thomas Smallman. He was aRoyalist who was forced to flee fromCromwell’s approaching troops. After managing to escape on horseback, Major Smallman took a do-or-die plunge down a steep slope atWenlock Edge. His horse was killed but Smallman survived thanks to an apple tree breaking his fall. Since then the ghosts of Smallman and his horse are said to appear in an area now known as Major’s Leap and have been said to have been seen at the manor.[12]