We were delighted to re-open our historic Hall and Gardens to the Shropshire public on June 26th for the first time since September 2019.
The highlight of the opening was the visit of the High Sheriff of Shropshire, Tony Morris-Eyton, to experience the new 40 minute audio tour of our award winning heritage tourism destination . The tour is led by Sir Francis Cressett who was Treasurer to Charles I and lived at the house in the 17th century.
The High Sheriff has been working with Shropshire Council to promote the importance of tourism to the Shropshire economy. In a socially distanced ceremony to mark the launch of the new audio tour, Morris-Eyton stressed how important tourism was to Shropshire and how he was making tourism in the county a focus of his time as High Sheriff.
William Cash, owner of Upton Cressett, said: ‘We have survived being closed for an entire season thanks to the Cultural Recovery Fund and we are reopening with a focus on a family day out in the gardens and new woodland trail and a new audio tour led by Sir
Francis Cressett who was with Charles I when he was executed in 1649. Upton Cressett was a royalist stronghold and Francis was his personal steward and Treasurer.
As part of making the tour experience safe, we worked with leading audio heritage company ATS Heritage, to create a launching a socially distant audio tour of Upton Cressett, along with commentary on the house paintings from BBC’s Fake or Fortune TV presenter Philip Mould OBE and commentary from Sir Bill and Biddy Cash and about the 50 year
restoration story of Upton Cressett which has hosted the Prince in the Tower (young Edward V) on his ill fated journey from Ludlow to the Tower in 1483.
‘Tourism accounts for over 10 % of the local economy and Upton Cressett enjoys being a community hub with a literary/history festival and Grade 1 Norman church. It is a magical step back in time and we were thrilled the High Sheriff visited to support us and our new digital initiatives’ added William Cash.
The sound for the tour was recorded in Shrewsbury. ATS Heritage produces the tours for St Paul’s Cathedral and Highclere Castle. The High Sheriff and his wife Clare also visited the new woodland heritage trail which was also made possible thanks to the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. A new exhibition/events space is also opening thanks to the CRF.
‘People are more interested now in a family day out than just paintings and furniture so we have spent six months creating a new family woodland heritage trail that has employed various woodsmen and gardeners during the pandemic. We are also improving our holiday let offering and improving accessibility and disability access to make our tourism offering more accessible and enjoyable to all’ says William Cash.
The opening weekend was a great success with visitors from all over the county and beyond. The Bosworth Tea Pavilion served homemade cake and tea, along with Lady Laura Cash opening up her millinery studio. Lady Laura makes hats for various royal families as well as leading racing figures and County figures.
The High Sheriff also met four of the last remaining members of the Cressett family, including members of the Thursby-Pelham Cressett family for the grand re-opening. They were invited to return to the Hall for the first time to the family house (which they owned from the 13th century to 1926) in over 100 years.
The Cressett family were royalist MPs and High Sheriffs of Shropshire in the 17th and 16th century. A Thursby-Pelham was High Sheriff in the early 20th century when the Thursby-Pelham family owned both Cound Hall near Shrewsbury and Upton Cressett Hall estate. ‘It was wonderful to have a High Sheriff return to a historic Shropshire home that has been host to many previous sheriffs and MPs’ said William Cash. ‘Tourism is the life blood of the county and it is very welcome to have Tony Morris-Eyton highlight its importance to Shropshire’.