Welcome To Upton Cressett Hall
If you are looking for a group stay for a special occasion, or 'multi-gen' family gathering to celebrate a landmark anniversary, or a half term family break, the award winning Upton Cressett Hall estate is a magical escape to a lauded Elizabethan moated brick manor brimming with history. With our Grade 1 Elizabethan gatehouse, four charming cottages and Dragon Hall (our unique fine dining/chill-out space), all around a central medieval courtyard, we can sleep from 14-22 guests.
We pride ourselves on our peace and calm, and featured in The Times in a 2024 article on 'Grand British houses for a truly restorative retreat'. The Hunting Lodge was selected in another Times Travel article on '20 great houses to rival Downton Abbey'. We also rent out our holiday cottages individually for romantic mini-breaks and Shropshire family holidays close to some of the best walking, historical sites and gastro-dining in the country.
Please click below to view a 3 minute film about our range of award-winning accommodation, dining and hospitality at the Upton Cressett estate (narrated by William Cash).
We have three Grade 1 listed buildings, including a Norman church in the garden, making us one of the most significant private heritage sites in the Heart of England. We have been the location for BBC and period films including the World War I drama Can You Hear Me ?, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival.
Winner of the 'Best Hidden Gem' in the UK as a heritage destination at the Hudson's Heritage Awards, and named by the Daily Telegraph as one of Britain's 'Top 10 Statelys' to stay , we are ideally located for exceptional history and walking holidays in the Shropshire Hills and exploring such beautiful gastro-towns as Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth.
We are a short drive from the Severn Valley Steam Railway, the romantic ruins of Wenlock Priory and the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge, birthplace of the Industrial revolution. We are just 15 minutes drive from the stunning National Trust walking trails along Wenlock Edge, inspiration for AE Housman and Ralph Vaughan Williams, along with the Edge outdoor adventure park (quad biking, archery, clay shooting, rock wall climbing etc) and many excellent restaurants and pubs. There are also several sporting activity centres nearby, including Country Treks Equestrian, winner of the Horse & Hound Best Small Riding School of the Year 2022. We also host sporting and shoot weekends.
History
The Hall and Gatehouse has a long tradition of hospitality including hosting such historic figures as the eldest ‘Prince in the Tower’ – King Edward V - in 1483, Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1646 and two modern prime ministers. After being restored by Sir Bill Cash MP and his wife Bridget in the early 1970s, the Hall is now the family home of writer William Cash and his milliner wife Lady Laura Cash.
GROUP STAYS AT UPTON CRESSETT: THE DRAGON HALL
The Dragon Hall is our group fine dining and 'chill-out' out space with a recreation of a 15th century Florentine palazzo banqueting room painted by our house muralist, Jerwood Prize artist Adam Dant. The oak refectory table sits from 12-22 guests but the magnificent room can seat up to 50 with extra tables. The 90 square foot room comes with a professional kitchen, a long oak refectory table (adjustable in length and a private drawing room area with sofas and armchairs in front of a huge Tudor fireplace. There is a wide screen TV with SKY to watch sport and movies, a mirrored cocktail bar stocked with wines and drinks and tables for board and card games.
The Dragon Hall can be set up for intimate family and friends gatherings and special group parties. See under 'Dragon Hall' at the bottom of the page for a 3 minute video about its creation by mural artist Adam Dant and booking details.
AWARD WINNING ACCOMMODATION
We have five award winning luxury holiday properties (Hunting Lodge, Cider House, Moat House, Coach House and the Library Flat) on our historic estate which is set in secluded Shropshire countryside near the market towns of Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock. PG Wodehouse, who was brought up around Bridgnorth, described the surrounding countryside as the 'Paradise of England'.
The Acton free house pub is just a 35 minute walk away. The wonderful Half Way House pub, awarded four stars by restaurant critic William Sitwell in the Daily Telegraph, is less than a hour's walk away and The Down pub is only 40 minutes walk away, reached via a public footpath. We are also located beside the Abbessess' Way, the two-day English Heritage walk from Morville priory to Shrewsbury Abbey via the ruins of Wenlock priory.
Our holiday destination is ideally located for cosy family or romantic breaks, group celebrations, bridal or wedding reception parties, and a range of sporting holidays, including walking in the Shropshire Hills of AE Housman, golf and riding. In the winter, we can also offer game shooting at various nearby private estates, providing luxury accommodation and fine dining for up to eight guns.
The properties are The Hunting Lodge, ideal for special romantic stays, (sleeps 4), which is a Grade 1 Elizabethan hunting lodge which has hosted princes and prime ministers and featured on the cover of Country Life.
All the other four properties are located around an enclosed medieval courtyard with planters and fruit trees and climbing roses. The Coach House is an enchanting former carriage house on two floors which sleeps 4/6; The Cider House is where apples from the estate's medieval orchard were pressed and boasts a large outdoor terrace for group BBQs and outdoor dining (sleeps 5). The Moat House with an enormous Clearview fireplace stove looks out on the medieval moat and boasts two bedrooms and an enormous sitting room and private terrace (sleeps 4). The Library Suite with its own kitchenette and en suite bathroom (sleeps 2) is included in any estate booking.
For group stays, including the Dragon Hall, we can have ten bedrooms and can accommodate groups from 12 to up 22 adults with three extra beds for children/young teens sleeping guests.
Our award winning self-contained properties can be rented either together for group stays, or individually, for a short break or even a few months. See Pricing 2024
AWARDS
Our four award winning boutique luxury self-contained properties offer a unique opportunity to ‘holiday in history’ and all are within 100-150 yards of each other. They can be taken together for special group stays, with fine dining and breakfast provided by our in-house cook and catering team, or on a self-catering basis.
We are a winner of ‘Best Hidden Gem’ in the country at the Hudson’s Heritage Awards and have been runner-up for Best Accommodation in the UK. Lady Laura Cash is a Trip Advisor SuperHost and we have a Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor.
Press Accolades:
Selected as one of the 'Top Ten Stately Homes' to stay in by the Daily Telegraph (2019)
Included in a Times holiday rental feature on '20 great houses to rival Downton Abbey' (2014)
Featured in a 2024 Times travel feature on 'The UK's poshest holiday rentals (some are even on Airbnb)
Featured in 'Britain's 50 Best Cottages, Beach Houses and Rural Retreats', The Times, 2013
LOCAL ACTIVITIES
Our ancient hamlet is tucked away in unspoilt countryside near the charming and bustling historic market town of Bridgnorth where PG Wodehouse was brought up. As a young boy, gaining inspiration for the Blandings novels, PG Wodehouse used to cycle along the parsley and buttercup filled lanes that lead to Upton Cressett from Bridgnorth. He described this Shropshire countryside as ‘the Paradise of England’.
Upton Cressett can be used as a base to enjoy a wide range of top arts, music and food festivals or for touring the medieval market towns of Ludlow, Much Wenlock, Bridgnorth (voted UK Best Market Town in 2017) and Shrewsbury.
Other local attractions include the West Midland Safari Park, spectacular walking along Wenlock Edge and the Long Mind, the Ironbridge Gorge, Buildwas Abbey, Ludlow and Stokesay castles and the famous Royal Oak at Boscobel House (English Heritage) where Charles II hid up for the night as he fled for his life after the battle of Worcester in 1651.
Upton Cressett Hall, with its huge twisted 16th century brick chimneys and 15th century Great Hall, stands in extensive topiary gardens next to a Norman church and one of the finest turreted gatehouses in the country. In The Best Thousand Houses In England, Simon Jenkins refers to Upton Cressett as an 'Elizabethan gem'.
Telephone: 01746 714616 or email [email protected].
Upton Cressett Hall is a member of Historic Houses.
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What the Critics Say
“The gatehouse is an Elizabethan gem”
Simon Jenkins, England's Thousand
Best Houses
“One of Britain's finest stately homes”
Daily Telegraph
“A splendid example of the English manor house at its most evocative”
Country Life
“A remarkable Tudor house of brick”
Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings
of England
“A remote and beautiful place”
Sir John Betjeman, former Poet Laureate
“One of the most interesting group of buildings I have ever seen”
Duke of Grafton, SPAB
“Upton Cressett has been almost unaltered since the Elizabethan era so a visit, or romantic stay, is a magical step back in time. With our 800 years of history and beautiful gardens, we look forward to welcoming you to one of the secret jewels of Shropshire”
