Wilderhope Manor stands on the south slope of Wenlock Edge, deep in the remote, wooded Shropshire countryside. The house was built in around 1586 for Francis and Ellen Smallman who lived there until 1599.
The Elizabethan building has solid limestone rubble walls with a stone-tiled roof and long chimney stacks. On the south east front the off-centre entrance has a detached pediment and a circular tower topped by a conical roof marks the spiral staircase.
On the far side of the house three-storeyed gables with mullioned windows face out over the River Corve deep in the valley below. The manor house is typical of many country mansions of its time but it is exceptional in its unaltered, well-preserved condition.
The unfurnished interior is notable for its fine 17th century plasterwork ceilings created by provincial craftsmen.
The initials of Francis and Ellen Smallman recur in the moulds which punctuate the plaster ribs. These initials alternate with standard motifs including the Tudor Rose, the portcullis and the fluer-de-lis.
The circular wooden staircase, with each tread made from a single piece of wood, is original. There is no garden, although a terrace was built in 1936.
The Smallman family occupied Wilderhope Manor until 1742.
The house later changed hands several times but during that time it was not enlarged or altered to any extent. In 1932 Wilderhope was given to the National Trust by the W.A. Cadbury Trust and extensive repairs were carried out.
Nearby on Wenlock Edge is a spot known as the 'Major's Leap'.
This commemorates Thomas Smallman, the owner of Wilderhope Manor during the Civil War. He was a major in the Royalist Army and was caught by Cromwell's troops while carrying despatches from Bridgnorth to Shrewsbury. He was imprisoned at Wilderhope Manor but escaped, probably by means of an old garderobe flue, and fled on his horse.
The fierceness of his captors' pursuit forced Smallman off the road and over Wenlock Edge. Althought his horse was killed, a crab-apple tree broke the major's fall. His pursuers assumed that he was dead but once they had left Smallman climbed up the hill and continued to Shrewsbury.
Currently the Manor is used as a Youth Hostel.
2008: 2 Apr-28 Sep: 14:00-16:30 Wed & Sun; 5 Oct-25 Jan 2009 14:00-16:30 Sun. Last entry 30mins before close.
Tel: 0870 770 6090 (Hostel Warden) Wilderhope Manor Website
