The wider Attingham Estate

There’s more to the Attingham Estate than its Mansion, Walled Garden, Pleasure Grounds and Deer Park which makes up around 200 acres (80 hectares). When you visit Attingham you are visiting the heart of this Shropshire Estate – the whole estate is around 4,000 acres (1600 hectares) in size. The wider estate includes woodland, parkland, tenanted farms and farmland, and properties. Like all great country estates Attingham’s land has always played a vital role in providing food for the table, fuel for the fire, and income for the estate. 

Productive land

People have lived on the land here for over 2,000 years, since at least the Bronze Age, farming the rich productive soil in this fertile valley of the Rivers Severn and Tern which provided water, food and transport. Now, these rivers are also an important wildlife corridor.

There are three Scheduled Ancient Monuments on the estate including one third of the Roman City of Viroconium (now known as Wroxeter).

The estate today is around half the size it would have been in the 1800s. Today, the Attingham Estate includes tenanted residential, agricultural and commercial properties that raise valuable income to maintain the properties as well as funding conservation work across the estate.   
 

Buildings on the estate

There are nearly 60 houses and cottages on the estate ranging from one bedroom terraced cottages to large 8 bedroom farmhouses.  Some of the current tenants and their families have lived on the estate for over 100 years. From time to time houses and cottages become available to let.

Cronkhill is an architecturally important Italianate villa built for Francis Walford, a friend and agent of the 2nd Lord Berwick (1789-1832).
 
It was designed by John Nash, the renowned architect behind many famous landmarks such as Regent Street in London and Brighton Pavilion. Nash also designed the Picture Gallery in the Mansion at Attingham.
 

Farming on the estate

There are 12 farm tenants on the wider estate at Attingham. They farm over 3500 acres of land, growing a variety of crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and root crops.  Milk, beef and lamb are also produced on the estate.  Woodchip and firewood are sustainably produced from 300 acres (120 hectares) of woodland and used to heat the Mansion and Stables Courtyard buildings.  
 
All of Attingham’s farm tenants are in a Higher Level Stewardship agreement.  These agreements, funded by Natural England, support farmers to farm in a nature friendly way as well as protecting the archaeology of the estate.  

We work with farm tenants to plant and manage hedges and trees across the estate as well as to create ponds to benefit nature and wildlife across the estate.  Over 200 acres (80 hectares) of land at risk of flooding has been converted to permanent pasture, protecting soils and water quality, as well as the underlying archaeology.  
 

Businesses on the estate

The wider estate is also home to a number of diverse commercial businesses including a bed and breakfast, cookery school, car sales and an environmental consultancy.   

These businesses utilise both our farmhouses and cottages as well as old farm buildings no longer suitable for modern farming.

Rangers and the wider estate

Our Ranger Team are often found carrying out work on the wider estate. Find out more about their work in the monthly blog from 2019, by Ranger Gareth.