Watery scene at Attingham Park

Storms have wreaked havoc lately, but the sun came out briefly and I captured this watery scene at Attingham Park, near Shrewsbury.

Watery scene at Attingham Park

Its beautiful parkland is the legacy of Humphry Repton, regarded as the last great English landscape designer of the 18th century.

I took this picture from the bridge across the River Tern on the old A5, which offers a great viewpoint of the atmospheric mansion house that was built in 1785 for Noel Hill, the first Lord Berwick.

The Hill family bought the original piece of land here in 1700 and added to it over the next century until it encompassed more than 8,000 acres, extending right up into Shrewsbury.

The family made their money through politics, the acquisition of land, money-lending and mining. However, not all of them proved to be so adept at managing their great fortune.

The work of the last Lord and Lady Berwick to restore the mansion meant that half of the estate was sold off in the first half of the 20th century.

This left nearly 4,000 acres, now under the management of the National Trust.

Published by Shropshire and Beyond on (modified )

2023